Revenge of the Defeated
by Mysocksarerockin101
Summary: Team Magma and Team Aqua apparently never learned their lesson. They're once again up to no good and planning their greatest scheme yet. The good part: Ash, May, Dawn, Brock, and friends are going to try to stop them. The bad part: Team Magma and Team Aqua have joined forces and are stronger than ever. Will our heroes be able to stop them?
1. Chapter 1: Oh Great, You Again

**I do not own Pokémon.**

Chapter 1 Oh Great, You Again: May's POV

"I'm not sure, Misty." I say cocking my head to the side to keep the home phone balanced between my ear and shoulder. "But all I know is every time he's around you his eyes stay glued to you." I gush, giggling while I chopped up some potatoes.

"He does? When? I haven't noticed!" Misty demands. I smile and hold back a laugh. Misty has liked Gary since square one. Everyone always thought she liked Ash, but truth is she's always liked Gary. She is just really good at hiding her feelings.

"All the time! The last time I visited you his eyes were always on you!"

"Thanks May, you're the best." Misty says. I smile.

"You too. You should come visit me in Hoenn sometime." I really miss Misty, we had become really good friends over the past year and a half. Since Ash and Brock were traveling with Dawn, we both had no one to talk to, so I decided to call Misty one day. We've been good friends ever since.

"I want to! But anyways, how's Ash?" She asks in a flirty tone. I instantly blush and my lips form a straight line.

"Not sure, I haven't talked to him since he left with Brock… and Dawn." I say trying to get worked up. I shouldn't be jealous, Dawn is amazing and pretty and all but… yeah she's really pretty.

"Don't worry about it, May. I'm sure Ash would pick you before Dawn any day. I know I would." Misty says. I burst out laughing and she starts talking about how she didn't mean it that way, but I'm too busy laughing my head off.

"Thanks Misty, I know what you meant."

"Good because I like Gary and only Gary." I can already picture her sticking her tongue out at me.

"Darn I was hoping we could get together." I joked. Misty laughs hard.

"I swear we are two weird girls." She laughs. I laugh in agreement. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Hey Misty, someone's at the door. Can I call you back?" I ask.

"Sure! Bye!" She hangs up. I put the phone down, as well as my vegetable knife, and walk over to the door. I answer it and standing before is a man in a red and black uniform with a big M on the front. He smirks evilly at me and I swear my heart must have stopped.

Team Magma… we stopped them a long time ago… what are they doing here?

Suddenly he grabs me roughly by my arms and drags me out of my house and down the front steps.

"LET ME GO!" I yell trying to shove and kick him away. He tightened his grip around my arms.

"Shut up. You're coming with me Miss Maple." He says sternly. We head towards a Team Magma van that was parked across the street. I twist and turn trying to get away from him, but I'm not very strong… at all. Well what can I say? I'm a 15 year old girl who loves contests. Sports and working out were never my thing.

"Oh no I'm not!" I say. I nudge Blaziken's pokéball out of my pocket with my elbow and it falls to the ground, a red light flashing and standing before me is my fire fighter. Well not actually a fire fighter, but you all should know who Blaziken is.

"Fine you want to battle? Then let's go! Come on out Mightyena!" The man calls releasing me. Out comes out a tall black and white dog, baring it's teeth towards Blaziken and I. "Mightyena, use Bite!"

The dog rushes towards Blaziken and I wait until the last second.

"Blaziken dodge and use Blaze Kick!" I command. She does and strikes the Mightyena hard onto the back, it falls to the ground hard, but gets back up.

"Counter attack with Bite again!" The grunt demands. The Mightyena charges and hits Blaziken this time. Blaziken slightly twitches, but the attack barely does any damage because it's not very effective.

"Now Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut!" I shout. Blaziken gets close to Mightyena and gets ready to kick.

"Dodge!" The grunts yells, but it's too late, the fire-fighting type already had a direct hit with the super effective move. Dust flew everywhere as the Mightyena fell to the ground. When the dust cleared, it showed the dark dog had fainted. "Mightyena return!" He calls pulling out a pokéball. The pokémon was pulled into the ball and the grunt shoved it into his pocket.

"Now! Come on out Numel!" He said throwing the ball into the air. The orange camel pokémon landed gracefully on the ground.

"Blaziken come back!" I said returning her into her pokéball. I search through my pocket of pokéballs and find the one that I want.

"Come on out Wartortle!" I said. The blue turtle with wing looking ears stood on two feet ready to fight.

"Numel, use Ember!" The fire-ground type opened its mouth and shot a hot flame towards Wartortle.

"Water gun!" I called. Soon the flame was washed away and the Numel was flying back, hit by the wave of water.

"C'mon Numel! Get up!" The man yelled. The little light orange pokémon slowly got back up on all four with one eye closed. I admired it for being so tough. "Now charge and use tackle!"

"When it gets close use Aqua Tail, Wartortle!"

When the Numel was about to strike, Wartortle whipped it's tail around quick and collided with the camel, finishing it off.

"Useless pokémon." The Team Magma member muttered while returning the pokémon to its ball. "Don't think this is over," He warned. "It has only just begun." And with that he ran off towards the van.

"Wartortle, Water Gun on the van!" But it was too late, the vehicle was already speeding away. I kicked the ground hard. They had escaped.

What was Team Magma up to? We had stopped them from capturing Groudon over two years ago… and why had they wanted me?

I let out Blaziken and hug her and Wartortle.

"Thank you both for saving me."

"Blaze." Said Blaziken.

"Wartortle." Called the turtle with its chest puffed out. Blaziken tipped it over with two fingers and I started laughing before returning both of them into their balls and running into my house to make a few calls.

I first called my parents and explained what happened. Next I called Ash's mother.

"Why hello May, it's great to here from you."

"Hi Mrs. Ketchum." I said. "Do you know where Ash is?"

"Yes, he's in Jubilife City with Dawn and Brock."

"Thank you. I will talk to you soon." I say hanging up. I look up the number and call the Pokémon Center there.

"Hello?" A nurse Joy says. Seriously how many are there in this world?

"Has Ash Ketchum stopped by anytime soon?"

"Yes, he's right here. I will put him on." A few seconds pass and I here a familiar voice on the other side.

"Hello?" I almost freeze. I haven't talked to him in over two years. He probably thinks it's really weird of me to call him all of a sudden, but I need his help if I want to stop Team Magma with whatever they are planning.

"Ash, it's May. They're back." I say clenching my hand into a fist.


	2. Chapter 2: We're Going to Hoenn?

**Still don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 2 We're Going to Hoenn?: Ash's POV

I walked into the Pokémon Center to heal up Pikachu and the rest of my pokémon from training. I handed my yellow best friend and pokéballs to Nurse Joy and then walked over to a table to sit down, when I heard a phone ring.

I turned around to see Nurse Joy answer it, look at me a couple times, and then she motioned for me to go to the calling station.

"There's someone on the phone for you, Ash." Nurse Joy says. I pick up the phone and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ash, it's May. They're back." May says, her voice filled with anger. May? I haven't talked to her in so long.

"Who's back?" I asked.

"Team Magma." She says.

"What?" I demanded almost dropping the phone.

"Watch it! Those things are expensive!" Nurse Joy snaps. Whoa, that's the first time I've ever seen Nurse Joy mad.

"Sorry!" I said to her. I turned my attention to May and put the phone back to my ear. "Wait how do you know? Did you see them?"

"More than saw them. A grunt came to my house and tried to take me-" She began.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you? May you should've called me sooner!" I cut her off. Guess my brotherly instincts kicked in again. I heard her laughing from the other side of the line.

"Ash, chill out. I'm fine. We had a battle and I won with Blaziken and Wartortle. The grunt escaped before I could do anything else."

I sighed of relief. If anything were to happen to May or any of my other friends, I don't know what I would do. Well I would go try to find them of course… oh you know what I mean.

"That's good. So what are you going to do?" I asked her tilting back in my chair a little bit.

"I'm going after them." She says. I almost fell out of my chair then. May was never one for confidence, but I'm impressed with how confident she sounds. I would always tell her how good she did in contests, but she never believed me. I don't understand why she's not confident. She's a great and talented coordinator.

"Well you're not going alone. I'm going to come to Hoenn with Dawn and Brock as soon as I can." I explained. I hope Brock and Dawn aren't mad at me for making us leave so early in our trip, but May can't take down Team Magma by herself. If one of us go down, then we go down together as a group, but of course we will put up a fight first.

"That's actually why I called, Ash. I was going to ask for your help but you already made up your mind so…" May giggled. I laughed too. Sometimes I just rush myself into things… I take that back, it happens a lot… probably too much.

"Well the answer is yes either way. I'm going to go talk to Dawn and Brock and I will call you back when I can." I say tilting back a little further.

"Okay, Bye!" May says.

"Bye Ma-AAAAY!" I said as my chair flew backwards. I dropped the phone and landed on the ground with a thud.

"Ash! Don't you know that chairs are dangerous?" Dawn says running to my side. I just look at her strangely and sit up. She's been acting really protective lately. Oh well. Maybe girls have sisterly instincts?

"I guess so, but I need to ask you something." I said thinking about my conversation with May. What could Team Magma be up to? What is Maxie's plan?

Dawn gets up in my face with a big grin and her cheeks red.

"Oh Ash! I knew this day would come! The answer's yes!" She says jumping up and down.

"Great! Now I have to go ask Brock!" I say getting up and running to our room in the Pokémon Center.

"What are you talking about? ASH!" Dawn calls but I ignore her and go to find Brock. I walk into the room and find him lying on the bed, looking at a map of Jubilife City.

"Brock, I need to talk to you. It's really important." I say sitting on my knees beside the bed.

"Yeah, Ash?" He says.

"May called and she said that-"

"ASH KETCHUM! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!" Dawn storms into the room.

"Dawn, not now. I really need to talk to Brock."

"But I'm your girlfriend!" Dawn says. I stare at her with wide eyes and my mouth drops open. Brock starts to laugh really hard and I face palm. Dawn… my girlfriend? I mean of course I care for her, but not like that!

"I'm confused." I say.

"What? But you said-" She protests.

"You didn't let me finish. C'mon let's go downstairs. I need to talk to both of you."

We walked down to main room of the center and all sat around a small table. I look back and forth between my friends. Dawn was looking at me sadly for some reason, and Brock looked curious and had a silly grin on his face.

"May called and told me about something that happened to her today." I began. Brock now looked concerned, while Dawn looked amused. Maybe she had a song stuck in her head or something. "She said that a Team Magma grunt stopped by her house and tried to take her."

"Team Magma? They were stopped a long time ago." Brock adds.

"I know. That's what's so weird." I paused. "We think they may be up to something again."

Dawn crosses her arms and looks down. "So I'm guessing we're going to Hoenn?" She asks not making eye contact with us.

"If you guys don't mind. May really needs our help." I said. Now it was my turn to look down. If Team Magma really is up to something, then this is going to be one hard mission.

"But my contest is next week…" Dawn muttered. I pounded my fist against the table and stood up.

"Our friend needs our help. I'm going with or without you guys." I said before walking to our room to get packed up.

I was almost done when Brock and Dawn walked in.

"Ash, I'm sorry about my comment. It was selfish. But count me in. I could use a good adventure." Dawn grins. I smile at her and turn to Brock.

"Well without me you guys will starve, so I have to go." Brock smirks. We all laugh.

"I would die without your cooking, Brock." I said.

"That is very true. But remind me when this adventure is over to teach you two how to cook. Unless you want to live on take out for the rest of your lives." We all exchange grins and get to work on getting everything packed up for our trip.

When all of our stuff was together we checked to see how long it would be until the next boat to Hoenn was leaving. The next cruise ship was leaving in 3 days. After ordering our tickets, I went back downstairs and over to the calling station to call May. I dialed the number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?" Her voice said.

"Hey it's Ash." I said smiling, it was good to talk to her again.

"Hey! What did they say?" She asked.

"They're all in. I haven't talked to Pikachu yet but-"

As if on cue, a yellow mouse scurried onto my lap and smiled up at me.

"Pika Pi!" He chirped.

"How's it going buddy?"

"Pi Pikachu!" He grinned before jumping onto my shoulder.

"Sounds like Pikachu's happy." May says. I smile and look up at my best friend.

"Pikachu how does a visit to Hoenn sound?" I ask him.

"Cha!" He says happily.

"Pikachu is cool with it." I tell May.

"Great! When should I expect you?"

"The next boat comes in 3 days."

"Alright, see you then!" She says hanging up. Pikachu grins goofily at me as I hang up the phone.

"What?" I asked him laughing. He points a tiny finger at me.

"Pika Pi Pikachu Pika." He says wiggling his finger.

"Yes I miss May but that's not why we're going. Team Magma is back."

Pikachu's ears droop and the red circles on his cheeks begin to spark.

"Don't worry Pikachu, we're gonna get 'em." I pat his head. He smiles up at me and we go to gather the rest of my Pokémon from Nurse Joy.

My stomach starts to growl and Pikachu cocks his head at me. I sigh.

"BROCK I'M HUNGRY!" I shouted as I ran down the hall of the Pokémon Center, getting strange stares from strangers. Bonus points!

(Sorry about the boring chapter but I felt this needed to happen so that everything would make sense. The next chapter will be more exciting I promise! Thanks for reading!)


	3. Chapter 3: The Unexpected Visitor

**I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 3 The Unexpected Visitor: May's POV

I was sitting on a bench down at the pier waiting for Ash, Dawn, and Brock's boat to arrive. It was after Midnight so I was the only one there besides two other families waiting for their loved ones. I on the other hand was waiting for my 3 friends so we could go on a dangerous adventure to go fight volcano people. I put my hands on my legs and look down.

I feel bad for lying to my parents about what I was going to do and where I was going to go. I had told them that Ash was coming to challenge Steven, our current League champion, and defeat him once and for all. I know my mom and dad wouldn't let me go on a journey to defeat Team Magma… they would think it's too dangerous. It is dangerous… but I have a good feeling that luck will be on our side, it has been so many times before.

I sit up straight and smile up at the stars. One thing is for sure, I was so excited to see Ash and Brock again, and hopefully become good friends with Dawn too. My stomach was mixed with butterflies knowing that I was going to see Ash and the craving for Brock's delicious stew. Yum… stew…

A honk from an upcoming boat woke me out of my stew night-dream. A huge smile spread across my face as I raced toward the dock. Passengers began to pile out and I searched through the crowd for a certain black haired boy with a cute yellow mouse.

"Ash can you help me with this bag?"

"Sure."

Ash, Dawn, and Brock finally come into view. Ash searches through the people and finally locks eyes with me and a smile appears on his face. He's grown a few inches and his outfit has changed since the last time we traveled through Hoenn and Kanto.

He was now wearing a white t-shirt with a black zip up vest over it. The vest was sleeveless and had a curved yellow line through the center. He was also wearing baggy blue pants with many pockets, red and black tennis shoes, black fingerless gloves with green wrists, and a black and red cap with a blue half pokéball symbol in the center. Pikachu was prepped up on his shoulder and waved a little yellow hand at me.

The girl beside him was insanely pretty. She had long blue hair with gold pins and bright blue eyes. She wore a white hat with a pink half pokéball symbol and a dark pink scarf. She had on a black vest with a white undershirt, a short light pink skirt with matching boots and black knee high socks peeking out from underneath.

Brock walked up behind them and his outfit changed too. He was wearing a green polo styled shirt and a brown and orange open vest over it. He also had tan baggy pants and cool looking blue and white tennis shoes.

I walked up to Ash and pulled him into a hug. It was so awesome to see him after so long. I really missed him. Next I gave Brock a hug and gave Pikachu a little twirl in the air, then I turned to Dawn who was giving me an odd look, but I ignored it.

"Hi, I'm May." I said holding out a hand. She took it and shook it kind of hard.

"Dawn." She says.

"May!" Brock says scooping me up over his shoulder, making me laugh hard. "My little stew eating sister you've grown up!" We all laughed and he put me down.

"Promise me you'll make me some stew?" I asked.

"I pinky promise!" Brock grins as we interlock pinkies.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm really hungry." Ash says gripping his stomach.

"You're always hungry." I teased.

"At least I don't eat like a Wailord." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Some one's being a Grumpig." I crossed my arms. Ash and I stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing. He hugged me once more and I grinned at him before picking up one of the bags. "How about we go to my place and Brock can fix us some stew?" I winked at Brock who gave me a thumbs up.

We began to walk down the path to my house, but we had to go through the Petalburg Woods to get back to my house. It was pitch dark, except for the one flashlight Ash was holding as we made our way through the forest.

"So how was your trip over here?" I asked everyone.

"Good! Long… but good!" Dawn chirped.

"Any cool adventures you care to share?" I kept asking questions because I have no idea what else to talk about.

"Later, not now, too hungry." Ash said keeping his eyes on the path in front of him.

"So May, how do you eat so much but stay so thin?" Dawn asks poking my stomach. I laugh and it became silent.

"Sorry, ticklish." I grinned in the darkness. "I'm not sure. But all I know is I looooove food." I said thinking about Brock's stew. Suddenly my stomach growled.

"What was that?" Ash demanded shining the light on me.

"My tummy." I said raising a hand to shield me from the light.

"Oh," Ash laughs. "My bad."

We walked another 5 minutes before we heard rustling in the bushes. Ash shone his light on it and out jumped a Poocheyena, a small gray and black dog.

"Poocheyena, tackle!" A voice called. It growled and charged at us.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash demanded.

"Pi…ka…CHU!" Pikachu shouted as a yellow bolt traveled from the small mouse and zapped the dark dog, leaving it on the ground knocked out.

A man jumped out from the bushes, another grunt from Team Magma.

"Ash Ketchum, long time no see." The man says walking closer to us. We took a step back with every step he took towards us.

"How do you know my name? What are you up to?" Ash demanded. I gripped Blaziken's pokéball in my pocket… just in case.

"See we know much more about you than you think." The man said now looking at me. "And we know a lot about you too May Maple." He smirked at me. "And we also know about Brock and of course Dawn as well." He said looking towards them.

"Sounds like we're pretty famous." Ash challenged.

"Yeah you are, and you see so are we." The grunt says referring to Team Magma.

"Why did that stupid grunt attack me?" I demanded opening my big fat mouth. I instantly covered it with one gloved hand, my other hand firmly around Blaziken's pokéball.

"That is not my story to tell." The grunt lowered his head a little. "But you see, it is a story I could finish." He says pulling a pokéball out of his pocket. "Fight me May. You may have been able to beat him, but I doubt you will be able to beat me." The man says crossing his arms.

"I swear if you try anything-" Ash began. I blush a little and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ash I got this." I smiled at him but I don't think he could see it in the darkness. "I accept your challenge." I say stepping forward.

"Good, Camerupt come on out!" The grunt shouted throwing the ball into the air. The evolution of Numel was now standing before me, a larger dark orange camel with two volcanoes on its back. I was about to send out Wartortle, since water is four times effective, when the man pointed a finger at me. "Let's make this more interesting."

"I'm listening." I said.

"Your Blaziken against my Camerupt, that will be quite a show." He snarled crossing his arms again.

"Fine. Blaziken come on out!" I shout as Blaziken appears in front of me, ready to kick some butt.

"And one more thing before we begin our battle." He says petting his Camerupt's head.

"What?" I asked.

"If I win, you come with me back to Team Magma's base."

"And if I win?" I demanded.

"I will tell you some very important information." He had a strange look in his eye. I knew he couldn't be trusted, but I agreed to his deal anyway.

"Very good, now Camerupt why don't you start off with an Earthquake." The grunt waves his hand as if it was nothing.

"BRACE YOURSELF!" Brock shouts. My friends grab a tree and hold on, waiting for the impact.

"NO!" I shouted knowing of Blaziken's weakness. Camerupt stomped its hooves and the ground began to shake. I fell onto my knees and gripped the ground hard. "BLAZIKEN GET IN A TREE!" I yelled over the roar of the shaking.

Blaziken was one step ahead on me and was on top of the tree, holding on for dear life.

"I see, you know your weaknesses. But Camerupt why don't you use flamethrower on that tree over there." He pointed to the tree that Blaziken was up in.

"You idiot! You'll start a forest fire!" I shouted. But it was too late, the tree was already up in flames. Blaziken jumped down before the flames reached her and I ran to her but then fell to the ground.

The tree next to it caught on fire and it just seemed to go down hill from there. Smoke filled the air and we were all coughing frantically. All around us trees and plants were burning fast, the forest would completely up in flames within minutes. The grunt had his Camerupt return and walked up to me as I was on my knees coughing horribly.

"Now May, I have to go now but I figured I would tell you the news anyway." The grunt says almost laughing.

"What?" I spat at him, I began coughing again.

"We have your Dad." He grins evilly before running deep into the darkness, leaving my friends and I in the burning forest.


	4. Chapter 4: Burned With a Twist

**Sadly, I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 4: Burned With a Twist: Ash's POV

I could barely breathe. The smoke was so overpowering and every direction I looked it pulled me in deeper, choking me in the process. I look over at my friends. Brock was covering his mouth with his hands and coughing hard. Dawn was trying to hold her breath and make her way through but she fell to the ground and gasped for air. I looked over at May. She was on her knees, tears falling from her eyes as she searched in her pocket and pulled out a pokéball. She lightly tossed it into the air and out came Wartortle. It looked up at her sadly, wanting to comfort its coughing capturer.

"Wartortle… Water… Gun…" She muttered in between coughs before collapsing on the ground. Suddenly the overwhelming heat died down and was replaced with sprinkling water dripping onto our heads. Wartortle had begun to put out the fire with its Water Gun! May's a genius!

"Buizel!" I whispered as I threw the ball into the air. The brown sea otter pokémon with blue gills on its arms, two tails, and a life ring looking collar around its neck looks at me desperately wanting to help. "Use… Water Gun."

"Piplup… BubbleBeam…" I heard Dawn say behind me. After a couple more minutes of choking and coughing, the fire was put out by the three powerful water attacks, but the smoky remains were still clouded around us. Suddenly an idea hit me. I managed to get onto my feet and I threw another ball into the air. Out came my Staraptor, a large grayish-dark brown and white bird with a red tipped crest perched high on its head.

"Staraptor flap your wings to push the smoke away from us!" I commanded.

"Staraptor!" It called as it flew high and moved its wings back and forth rapidly. The wind coming from the flying pokémon's wings was very powerful and the dark mist started drifting away. A couple more powerful flaps later and that smoke was gone. Staraptor, very proud of itself, flew back down and landed gracefully on both feet. It began clapping with its wings, making me smile.

"You did great, thank you." I smiled putting it back into its home. I did the same with Buizel. Now that I could actually see around me, I was horrified at the sight of the forest.

The trees were basically gone, burnt down to ashes. Some were barely standing but thinner than a twig and blacker than coal. The grass and shrubs were gone, replaced by ashes piled onto the ground, covering the old greenery. This place was once so filled with life… and now it was a burnt wasteland. Where would the pokémon that lived here go now that their home was destroyed?

I formed fists with my hands, my knuckles turning white. How dare Team Magma do this! How could they burn down an entire forest and not feel an inch of guilt? I turned to look at my friends. Dirt and grime covered their faces, their clothes layered in ash. Pikachu was now more of a gray mouse than a yellow. Dawn was curled up in a ball soaking in everything that has just happened. I walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder casually.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nods slowly before wiping her eyes with the palms of her gloved hands. I gave her a hug and held Piplup up to hose Dawn off with a couple BubbleBeams. I went over to help Brock dust off himself and repack his now torched but still useable backpack. I looked over at May and my shoulders slumped so far I thought they were going to fall off.

She was sitting down with her hands to her eyes, sobbing horribly. Her Blaziken had a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her.

"It's all my fault." She wept with her hands still over her eyes.

"May, no it's not. No one is to blame besides Team Magma." I reassured her. She sniffed and looked up at me. Even with red puffy eyes and a nose to match, she still looked great to me. "No one wants to see you cry. Especially little ol' Blaziken over here." I say putting an arm around Blaziken's waist. She looked down at me mad and I laughed and said. "I mean big ol' Blaziken." I winked. Blaziken looked up with her chest puffed out now satisfied, making May giggle.

"You always know how to cheer someone up. Thanks, Ash." She smiled through her tears. Something must have came to her mind as her eyes filled with water again. "Ash… they have my dad." She said covering her mouth with her hands. I blinked a couple times letting the new information register in my mind. When I finally understood my eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. "That's why they tried to take me… I was going to be the bait so they could get my father."

"We're going to save your dad, whatever it takes." I say grabbing her hand and helping her up. "Now c'mon, we need to get into town and tell Officer Jenny what happened."

We reached Petalburg City and rushed into the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy at the front desk looks up at us in surprise and walks over.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you kids?" She demands.

"Team Magma started a fire in Petalburg Woods. We were travelling through when they showed up. Our pokémon put out the fire, but there's not much left of the forest." Dawn explains hanging her head. Nurse Joy's eyes were bulged out in fear, but then she slowly looked down.

"Oh no… all those pokémon…" She says.

"Don't worry, Nurse Joy! I will comfort you!" A dusty Brock says grabbing both of her hands. She just blushes and looks away.

"Brock, now is not the time to be flirting." A voice says walking in. We turn around to see Officer Jenny in her police uniform and a Growlithe, a small fire-type orange dog, by her side.

"We were looking for you. Have you seen the forest?" I ask her. She nods sadly and Growlithe whines and drops his head.

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do right now. I will gather up a team of people to plant new trees and try to restore the forest, but it will take a lot of time. As of the pokémon… they're going to have to find a new home for now." Officer Jenny says. A moment of silence fills the room.

"Officer Jenny, Team Magma has my father." May says. "We need to save him!"

"We just need to stop Team Magma once and for all. Kids I need you to hold tight for right now, but when you hear something let me know." She says before running out of the center with Growlithe.

"So we just let my dad stay a hostage?" May asks looking at her fingers as she talks.

"Norman is a very strong man. I'm sure he will be okay for a little while." Nurse Joy says.

"I guess so." May says softly.

"I'm going to wash up your old clothes and a room in the Center for you to stay in. I don't think it's safe to stay at May's house with Team Magma running around." Nurse Joy says handing us a couple of robes to wear while she washed our normal clothes. We all took turns changing and then handed our old clothes to Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for your help." I tell her. She smiles and walks off.

"I hate this!" Dawn says throwing her hands up in the air. We all look at her confused.

"Dawn… calm down." Brock says. Dawn's face begins to get red and I scratch the back of my head.

"Uh… Brock… you never tell a girl to calm down…" I say. May and I take a step back before Dawn blows. She gets right up in Brock's face.

"Calm down? I will not calm down! You wanna know why?" Dawn screams.

"Why?" Brock asks staying perfectly calm. Dawn sighs and looks away from us but then turns back.

"Because out there somewhere Team Magma is planning something. How can we sit around and do nothing when we know this is going on?" She asks. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's time to research." I say. We all nod in agreement.

We all gather around the small computer in the Pokémon Center as Brock types away at the keys. An article on Team Magma's last attack pops up.

"It says here that Team Magma's old hideout was hidden somewhere in Mt. Chimney." Brock says.

"Mt. Chimney? Where's that?" Asks Dawn.

"Mt. Chimney is behind Lavaridge Town. If we go to Rustboro City we can go through the Rusturf Tunnel, stop in Mauville City, then head north to Lavaridge." May explains pointing everything out to us on the map she has of Hoenn.

"Sounds good to me!" I say with a fist in the air.

"Ash sometimes I swear you're too dramatic." Dawn says.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu says with his cheeks sparking.

Dawn doesn't looked amused and simply says "Do you want me to get Buneary?"

Pikachu's ears drop and he says a mumbled "Pika." And we all laugh.

"So sounds like we're heading to Lavaridge Town." Brock says shutting off the computer.

"Here are your clothes." Nurse Joy says handing us all of our clothes back. "Have a safe trip!" She calls over her shoulder before getting back to work.

"Let's get a goodnight sleep and we will leave early tomorrow to begin our journey." Brock suggests.

"Brock you're so smart. You're like an Alakazam! All smart and everything!" Dawn says pinching his cheek. May looks at me confused.

"She gets that way when she's tired." I say yawning a little.

"Aw! Ashy Washy sounded like a Snorlax there!" Dawn says now pinching my cheek.

"Man would I do anything for a Jigglypuff right now." I said.

"I have a Jigglypuff!" A young trainer says from the other side of the room. He gets up from his table and walks over to us. "Come on out!" He calls. A small pink creature smiles up at us.

"Ash why did you want a Jigglypuff again?" Brock whispers to me.

"So it can sing and put Dawn to sleep." I whisper back.

"You want it to sing? Okay! Jigglypuff use Sing!" The boy commanded.

"No!" Brock says.

"I thought that's what we wanted?" I asked Brock confused.

"If we listen we will fall aslee-"

"Jigg-a-ly-puff. Jigg-a lyyyy-puff." The pokémon began to sing. And soon enough, all of us collapsed onto the Pokémon Center floor.

(Our heroes are going to start their journey in the next chapter. What do you think is going to happen? Thanks for reading!)


	5. Chapter 5: Sushi Anyone?

Note: Thank you to **TheCartoonFanatic01** for making me realize my mistake. I totally forgot that May and Dawn actually met! So for this story lets just pretend that the Wallace Cup has not happened yet.

Also check out the story Ashley and Gary: Through Hoenn by **UltimateLoveStorys**. It's a really fun story about what would happen if Ash were a girl when traveling through Hoenn! She's joined by Gary Oak as her traveling partner but instead of being rivals, they are really good friends! She's a great author and this is one of her best stories yet!

**Even though I wish I did, I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 5: Sushi Anyone?: May's POV

"May! Wake up!" I hear some one call, shaking me roughly. I slowly open my eyes to see Brock smiling down at me.

"Five more minutes, Brock." I say as I turn away from him and close my eyes again.

"I made steeeeew!" He says in a sing-song voice. My eyes instantly open and I sit up with a huge smile on my face.

"I'll be right back." I say casually walking until I was out of Brock's sight, then I started charging to our room.

"STEEEEEEEEW!" I shout running inside. Dawn and Ash are already gulping down the delicious soup while Pikachu is nibbling on his pokémon food. I grab a bowl and scoop myself a filled to the rim serving before taking a seat next to Dawn, who slides away from me slowly. I act like I didn't notice.

"Ash, how many bowls have you eaten?" Dawn asks. I look over at Ash and he has the soup all over his lips and chin and gives us a cheesy grin.

"Hehe…4…" He says before lifting his bowl to his mouth and slurping the rest up.

"Yeah? Well I bet I can eat 5!" I challenged. Ash drops his bowl onto the table and holds out his hand.

"Challenge accepted." Ash says as I shake his hand. Soon enough we were gulping down stew like there was no tomorrow. Pikachu and Dawn watched the two of us eat with disgusted looks. Since Ash already had four bowls he was going a little slower than usual, so I was kind of at an advantage. Then again he was really ahead of me, but I was slowly catching up. When we were done Ash had eaten 7 bowls while I had 6.

"Oh yeah! I'm the winner! Woo!" Ash says dancing around the room. Brock walks in looking at the empty pot and gave Ash and I a death stare.

"Ash I told you to save me some…" Brock whines. Ash holds his hands up in protection.

"Not my fault May eats like a Munchlax." Ash winks.

"Yeah it's not his fault- hey!" I say offended. The three of them begin laughing hard and I eventually join in.

"You have stew in your hair!" Dawn says as she ruffles her hand through Ash's hair. I turn away and act like I'm looking something up in my Pokédex.

"I better go take a shower and get this soup out of my hair." Ash says. "I shall be back in 10 minutes." He says walking out.

"I'm going to go get something to eat, you girls want anything?" Brock asked with his hand on the door knob.

"No." Dawn says.

"Yes!" I say the same time as Dawn's answer.

"Seriously, May?" Brock asks. I smile.

"Just kidding." I say shooing him away. He shakes his head and walks out. Pikachu jumps onto my shoulder and I scratch behind his ears, I mean c'mon what Pikachu wouldn't love that?

"Hey May… um… I need to talk to you about something." Dawn says.

"Go for it." I encourage her as I sit down in a chair with Pikachu on my lap. She sits across from me and puts her hands on the table.

"I know you've known Ash longer than I have and everything but can you do me a favor and cut it out with the flirting?" She asks glaring at me. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks. I bite my lip not knowing what to say. I take in a deep breath and make eye contact with her.

"I'm not flirting with Ash. That's the way we've always been." I lied, but it was pretty convincing. Yes I like Ash, but she can't tell me what I can and can't do… and if we both like Ash then we should let him decide who he wants to go with.

"It doesn't seem that way." Dawn waves a hand at me. "It's quite obvious that you like him and do you see him flirting back with you? I don't think so. Why don't you do Ash and I a favor and back off?" She snaps.

"Pi Pikachu…" Pikachu mumbles before jumping down from my lap. Smart mouse.

"Look, if you like Ash then that's fine with me, but why don't we let him decide who he wants to be with?" I offered. I was trying to be friendly with Dawn, but she sure as heck wasn't making it easy on me. Since we were going to be travelling a lot together, the least she could do was try to get along with me. Besides, how could she make a decision for Ash without asking him about it first?

"Ash already admitted to me that he likes me. He told me back in Sinnoh. I think we both know who won here." She snickers at me before getting up and walking out of the room. I looked down. So… Ash liked Dawn? I should've seen that one coming from a mile away. She wasn't the nicest girl on the block, but she was really pretty. What was I thinking? The guy never picks the best friend. They always go for the pretty new girl. I never had a chance. She replaced me. Pikachu hopped onto the table and looked at me with sad eyes.

"Pikachu Pika chaaa Pi Pikachu." He said rubbing his cheek up against mine. I smiled a little and ruffled the fur on Pikachu's head.

"Thanks Pikachu. Do you think I should give up?" I asked him. He shook his head no and looked up at me encouragingly. I chuckled and stood up. "You're right. I shouldn't give up, but will you do me favor?" Pikachu turns his head sideways, waiting for me to keep talking. "Please don't tell Ash that I like him. I want to tell him myself when the time is right." I say. Pikachu takes a small yellow finger and draws an X over the place his heart would be and then smiles up at me. "Thank you. Now let's get finished packing up."

"Who's ready to travel?" Brock asks as I meet everyone else by the front door.

"I am!" Dawn chirps raising a hand in the air.

"This boy is!" Ash points his thumb to himself. Everyone looks at me waiting for my response and I simply shrug.

"I'm not a fan of walking, but let's get the show on the road." I say looking everywhere but Ash. I'm not giving up on him, but since he likes Dawn I don't want to interfere.

We all thank Nurse Joy and begin to head towards Rustboro City. We sadly had to head through the Petalburg Woods again, but it wouldn't take too long. As we walked down the familiar path, we were all silent as we looked around at the blackened scenery. It was so sad that this had happened to such a beautiful place. Petalburg Woods used to be seeming with life… and now it was almost nothing. We made our way through the forest and came out to open land. A small flower shop sat in front of us and to our right was a huge lake. Magikarp happily jumped out of the water and there were a couple fishermen trying to get a catch.

"Do you guys want to stop by the flower shop?" Ash asked us, looking directly at me. He knew I loved flowers. I looked away and acted like I was watching a fisherman throw his line out, but truth was I could care less.

"I could go for a couple flowers!" Dawn beams running into the market. I smile at Brock as he opens the door for me and walk in after her.

The small shop had green walls with beautiful flowers and plants lining up on shelves. Potted plants stood tall in corners and tables with smaller flowers filled the center. There were small passageways so people could get from one side to another and the floor was engraved with small brown and white pebbles. As soon as you walked in you were hit with pleasant fumes and scents coming from all the greens. It was a very relaxing place. I looked around the shop and found a really pretty red flower. It was a simple flower, but still elegant. The petals were a deep red with white tips and edges and the center was a simple yellow circle. It was a long green thorn-less steam and it smelt really good too!

I looked around some more. Brock was flirting with the cashier lady while Dawn and Ash were looking at flowers together. I watched as Ash picked out a blue flower and held it out to Dawn. She took it blushing and smelt it before giving him a tight hug. So… Ash really did like her. She wasn't lying.

We finally left, dragging Brock away from the lady, and walked towards the bridge that went across the lake into Rustboro City.

Suddenly a Magikarp flew up, thunked Brock right in the head, and he fell backwards into the water. He came up for air and spit out a mouthful of water.

"Who wants sushi tonight?" Brock asks as we all laugh at what just happened. We then stop after we heard what he said. "Guys it was a joke." He reassures us. We all laugh again and Ash takes off his backpack and helps Brock out of the water.

"Seriously what are the chances of that happening?" I say grabbing a towel out of Ash's backpack and handing it to Brock.

"I'm not sure, probably one in a million Magikarp." Brock says as he begins to dry off his hair. Ash laughs and puts a hand on Brock's shoulder.

"C'mon, we're almost to Rustboro City. If we start walking you'll dry off faster." Dawn encourages us. We continue ahead and finally make it to the large city. Rustboro City was full of huge skyscrapers and towering buildings made of stone that give this town an old feeling to it. It's the third biggest city in all of Hoenn!

"Yes! We made it!" Brock says with his hands up in the air.

"Woo hoo!" Dawn says joining Brock in the moment.

"Let's check in to the Pokémon Center." Ash says.

After we reserved two rooms to stay the night here, one for the boys and one for the girls, we decided to go explore the City. Dawn wanted to see the shopping centers, Brock wanted to go say hi to Roxanne, the Gym Leader of this town, Ash wanted to work on his training, and I was up for anything since I've been here plenty of times before.

"How about this," Brock rubs his chin. "Dawn and I run by the gym real quick to say hi to Roxanne and then I will show her the good shops, while May goes with Ash to help him train."

"Sounds good to me." Ash shrugs. I just nod.

"Eh. Who cares about shopping?" Dawn laughs. "I'll go with Ash and May can go with Brock."

"But you just said-" I started.

"Whatever works." Ash cuts me off.

"I'm just going to go walk around." I sigh. "I'll meet you guys at the Center later."

"May I don't think it's a good idea for you to be walking around by yourself, Team Magma could be here for all we know." Ash argues.

"I'll be fine." I say and begin to walk away from my friends. "Have fun with Dawn." I mutter.

About an hour later it was getting dark so I decided to head back. I was walking along the road when I heard two voices talking in an alley.

"Yes sir, we have the father." One voice said. I stopped in my tracks and hid behind a trash can, spying on the a man and a woman. The girl was dressed in a female Team Magma suit. The man however was a member of Team Magma, but he was the most dangerous. He had red hair going past his ears and was wearing a red and black lab coat with the M symbol on the left side of his chest. He was also wearing black pants and black shoes.

"Maxie…" I muttered. The leader of Team Magma was here in Rustboro! I peeked up a little and listened again.

"Just make sure you get the secret out of him. Once he does then you can dispose of him." Maxie smirked. I felt my heart stop. Dispose of my Dad? You don't think…

"As you wish. Everything is ready in Lilycove City as well." The female said.

"Very good. Now let's head back, it's been a long day." Maxie says. I hear footsteps coming towards me and I try to get back on my feet, but I managed to rattle the trash can when doing so. "Hey!" Maxie yells at me. I hold back a scream as I run down the street with the leader of Team Magma hot on my trail.

(Oh snap! Will May get caught? Did you like the chapter? Thanks for reading!)


	6. Chapter 6: Small World, Big Appetites

Check out the story: The Water Festival by **PAS-15**. It's an awesome story for all you Advanceshipping lovers about May and Ash meeting up 5 years later at the Orange Islands!

Also thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate every single one of them!

To clear things up a little bit, here are the ages of everyone. I wanted to make them a little older because Ash being 10 (as of season 1) seemed a little young to me.

Ash- 16

May- 15

Brock- 18

Dawn- 15

Misty- 17

Gary- 17

Misty and Gary will be talked about more as the story goes on and who knows? Maybe even show up? :)

Dawn really isn't going to be mean. I personally like Dawn and I was planning on making her a protagonist from the beginning. A part in this chapter will explain everything. I just wanted to add a little drama to show that she too has feelings for Ash and to add more suspense to the story. She wasn't trying to be mean, it just sort of happened.

**I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 6: Small World, Big Appetites: May's POV

"Get back here!" Maxie roared as he chased me down the road. I was panicking, if I was caught who knows what would happen? I thought back to my friends. Surely they would come and look for me… but they might not even know where to start. What if we are wrong about Mt. Chimney? Maxie and that girl were talking about it in their conversation… but they also brought up Lilycove City. I wonder if my dad is there? What are they planning at Lilycove City?

My feet stomp along the gravel and I look side to side. Where should I go? Brock might still be at the gym, but what if he wasn't? I could be easily cornered. Ash and Dawn were training… are they even still in the city? The street lights begin to flash on as the darkness of the night settles in. I was running out of time. Maxie was close behind. Calm down. Don't panic. Oh forget it. I was totally panicking. I decided the best place to go would be the Pokémon Center, but the problem is I already passed it… how would I get there now?

I stop when I reach the north end of the city. I turn around and face the Leader of Team Magma as he slows down and eventually stops a couple feet from me. He watches me carefully as I take a couple steps to the side.

"Oh my gosh! It's a Rayquaza!" I say pointing up to the sky.

"Where?" the dumbfounded man asked searching the sky for the legendary green dragon pokémon. I zip past him and begin running the way I came. I can't believe he actually bought that. The chances of seeing a Rayquaza are like one in a million Magikarp, or at least the way Brock would put it. "You blasted kid!" Maxie yelled as he realized I lied and began to chase after me. The Pokémon Center was in sight and I would be there soon. Just 10 more steps. Suddenly the Team Magma girl from earlier stood in front of the entrance, blocking my only way to getting help.

"You're not going anywhere." She smirks at me. I look behind me and Maxie is standing literally three steps away. To my left was a building wall, I could try to escape to my right but the girl could easily get in front of me… I gulp and my knees begin shaking. Where's Officer Jenny when you need her?

"Hey! Leave her alone!" I hear someone yell. Officer Jenny? Nope that was a male voice.

"Pika Pi!"

I see Ash, Pikachu, and Dawn running up the street. I smile at the sight of them. They came just in time.

"Pathetic boy. You're no match for either of us." Maxie narrows his eyes at Ash. "You look oddly familiar." He mutters, but only I heard.

"You won't know unless you battle me first!" Ash says confidently.

"Nah, I'll save that for another day. But you can battle her if you want to." Maxie says waving his hand at the female member as if she were nothing.

"You want to battle kid? Then let's battle, but let's make this a little more interesting." She says.

"What?" Dawn asks.

"If I win, you have to stay away from Team Magma forever." She began.

"And if Ash wins?" I ask.

"Then they can have you back." She winks. Just then Maxie grabs me painfully by the wrists and hauls me back a couple steps.

"Let me go!" I shout trying to squirm out of his grip.

"Deal!" Ash says. I look at Ash sadly and he says, "Don't worry May, I got this."

We head north out of the city and towards some open grass for the battle. Ash and the grunt stand on opposite sides and face each other.

"Go Torkoal!" The girl says throwing the ball onto the field. An orange fire turtle with a black and red shell stands by for battle. Smoke rises from its body and forms a little cloud above its shell.

"Tork!" It calls out.

"Buizel! I choose you!" Ash says throwing his pokéball out. Buizel stands proudly with its arms crossed. Good choice, Ash.

"Buizel!" It says smiling crookedly at Torkoal. It knew it had the advantage.

"Let the battle begin!" Dawn calls out.

"Alright! Torkoal use Body Slam!" Torkoal began charging towards Buizel.

"Buizel wait until it gets close, dodge, and then use Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded. Buizel awaited its attacker then jumps out of the way at the last second. While Torkoal was confused about why it missed, Buizel charged with water wrapped around it and smacked right into Torkoal. The super effective move should have done more, but Torkoal only flinched a little.

"Torkoal has good defense…" Ash whispered. "Buizel use Water Pulse!" 5 water rings were hurtled straight at the fire type.

"Dodge and use SmokeScreen!" Even with its slow speed, Torkoal managed to dodge at the last second, and shot out a little black ball that exploded when it hit the ground, covering the field in smoke. No one could see a thing!

"Buizel wherever you are, keep your eyes open and if you see something coming then hit it with a Water Gun!" Ash called out. Strangely the girl didn't give her Torkoal a single command, but all of a sudden Buizel was sent flying back and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Torkoal has a strong head doesn't it?" The girl laughs from the other side of the field. Buizel gets back up on its feet.

"Buizel get a little closer then use Water Gun!" Ash says. Buizel takes 10 steps closer to Torkoal and shot a powerful blast of water.

"Protect." The girl says laughing. A green shield of light forms around Torkoal and the Water Gun has no damage.

"Cheap shot." Ash mutters. Buizel bares its teeth, getting really frustrated.

"Torkoal use Rapid Spin!" The Torkoal hid into its shell and began spinning, heading straight towards Buizel.

"When it gets close use Water Pulse!" Ash commands. With the shell only a couple spins away, Buizel shoots the special attack and it collides with Torkoal's shell. Torkoal flies back and crash lands into the dirt.

"Get back up!" The girl shouts. Torkoal slowly gets back up, shaking a little and unsteady on its feet. "Good, now use Flamethrower." She says. A beam of flames is shot out of the turtle's mouth.

"Use Water Gun and finish this!" Ash says. Buizel's Water Gun cancels out Torkoal's Flamethrower and Torkoal gets a direct hit from the super effective attack. Torkoal falls to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Torkoal is unable to battle! Buizel wins and the victory goes to Ash!" Dawn says cheering.

"Yeah good job Buizel!" Ash says. Buizel crosses its arms but smiles up at its trainer.

"Buiz!" It grins. The pokémon are returned to their balls and Maxie gives me a little shove, releasing me in the process.

"Let's head back to Mt. Chimney. See you kids around." Maxie gives us a strange look before running out of sight with the girl following him. I went up to my friends and hugged them.

"Thank you guys so much! Great battle, Ash." I smiled.

"Thanks."

"I need to work out don't I?" I asked. Ash laughs.

"Just a little bit. C'mon let's get back to the Pokémon Center."

That night I was lying on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed when Dawn peeks down from the top.

"May, can we talk?" She asks.

"Sure." I say.

"I'm really sorry for everything. I'm sorry for the things I said and I'm sorry for telling you to stay away from Ash. I just like him a lot and I let my jealousy get the best of me. As soon as I walked out I realized that what I did was completely wrong and that it needed to be fixed. Can we start over as friends?" She explains.

"Of course, Dawn. I'd like that." I say holding out my hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." She says having trouble taking my hand since she was upside down but she finally did it. We both laughed.

"And you have no reason to be jealous of me. You're really pretty and a talented coordinator." I smiled at Dawn.

"Thanks, May." She smiles back. "We should let Ash decide, that's the best thing to do."

"I agree… but doesn't he like you?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. I made that up. I'm sorry." She frowns.

"It's okay." I shrug. "But what about when he gave you that flower?"

She blushes and says, "That was pretty unexpected. It was probably just a token of our friendship."

"You never know." I winked. Dawn smiles and she lays back down on the bed above me.

"Did you know that he carries his half of the badge you two won together wherever he goes?" Dawn asks. I blink a couple times but then smile. That's so sweet.

"Now I do. And Dawn?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we had this talk."

"Me too, May. Me too."

The next morning the four of us were sitting at a table. I had called a group discussion because there were a couple things we need to talk about.

"So yesterday I heard Maxie talking about Lilycove City." I began. "I think Team Magma has something going on there, but he also mentioned Mt. Chimney as well."

"They probably have a couple different things going on. They are the type for multiple plans," says Brock. "But where do you guys think we should go?"

"Since we are already on our way we should probably go to Mt. Chimney first, then we can head to Lilycove." Dawn suggests.

"I agree and before Maxie ran off yesterday he said to the girl 'let's head back to Mt. Chimney." Ash added.

"You're right. So that's our best bet." I say. We all nod in agreement.

"Oh my gosh! You know what I just realized?" Dawn asks.

"What?" Ash says.

"I haven't said my catch phrase in like forever!" She says with her hands to her cheeks. "Quick May say you're sorry for something."

"I'm sorry that… your Pachirisu can't fly." I say.

"No need to worry! Squirrels aren't supposed to fly!" Dawn beams. "That felt good." She giggles.

"Then how do you explain Emolgas?" Ash asked. (Emolga is a flying squirrel Pokémon from the 5th Generation). Dawn looks at him stunned and we all laugh.

"Meeting adjourned!" Brock declares.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu grins. I love how Pikachu always seems so happy.

We leave to head towards Rusturf Tunnel. We were standing outside the cave entrance and Dawn was chewing on her fingernails. I laugh and lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. Only Whismurs live in here." I reassure her. She sighs of relief and we head inside.

It was really dark in here. The light from the sun outside lit up the beginning of the cave, but the rest was pitch black. Ash pulled out his flashlight and pointed it in front of us. He flicked it on and when he did, a Whismur appeared right in front of us.

"Ahhhhh!" Dawn and I screamed at the same time.

"Guys shhhhh. If we're too loud the Whismur will get scared and start an Uproar." Brock warns us. We both nod and look at each other and giggle a little. As we make our way through the cave, Dawn and I had our hands over our mouths just in case we screamed again. I remove my hands for a minute.

"Guys what do you think Team Magma is up to?" I asked afraid for their answers.

"To take over Hoenn perhaps. Or maybe the world." Brock says.

"Hopefully they aren't trying their old plan again because that didn't work." Ash adds.

"I don't understand why they wanted to expand the land mass. It's just crazy talk if you ask me." Brock rolls his eyes.

"They're dumb." I say. Everyone looks at me and starts chuckling. I stare at them confused. "What's so funny?" I asked confused.

"You're just so innocent, May. Only you would think that being called dumb is a huge insult." Ash grins at me. I blush and giggle a little.

"It's still an insult…" I say. Ash and Brock just shake their heads at me.

"Why would they want May's dad though…?" Dawn asks.

"I'm not sure, but once we find him, we will know." Brock says confidently.

"I hope he's alright…" I whisper.

When we got about halfway through the cave, Ash's flashlight went out and we were forced to walk in complete darkness for awhile. We were afraid that if Pikachu tried to create a light, it would disturb the Whismur.

"Are we almost out?" Dawn asked.

"It shouldn't be too long now. This cave isn't that big." I say.

"OW!" Ash yells. We stop walking and suddenly we hear the cries of a lot of Whismur.

"Ash! What happened?" Brock asks.

"I walked straight into a wall. I guess we were supposed to turn." Ash says. The Whismurs' cries got louder and eventually they were so overpowering that we were forced to cover our ears. Brock said something like "Uproar!" but it sounded more like "Uhhhwooar."

We hear many footsteps begin to head towards us. The Whismur were coming after us! We began running with our hands stretched out in front in case we were to run into anything. It was a good idea, but we probably looked incredibly stupid. Rocks were beginning to fall from the ceiling and we were running around frantically trying not to get pelted. Pikachu led the way with his really good hearing and we finally came to the end of the tunnel.

"Exploud!" A cry came from behind us. We stopped and slowly turned around. A giant Exploud was glaring down at us, obviously mad at us for upsetting the Whismur. We tried to get closer to the exit, but with every inch we got closer, the louder and more mad the huge purple Pokémon became. One of us was going to have to battle it.

"I got this." I say. I pull out Blaziken's ball. "Go Blaziken!" I say twirling the ball into the air. "Blaziken, Sky Uppercut!" I say.

"Blaze-Ken!" She says colliding her foot with the Exploud. The Exploud cries out in pain and runs away. Blaziken looks back at me confused but I just laugh.

"Well… it was a super effective hit." Dawn says.

"Maybe it got scared?" Brock adds.

"Who knows?" Ash smiles. We all look at each other and shrug.

We walk out of the cave and start making our way towards Mauville. As we were walking I saw a familiar green haired boy in a black shirt with a purple shirt over it, teal pants, and black shoes training an Absol in the wild green. Oh no… he couldn't be here… please tell me I'm dreaming.

I pinch my arm, getting a strange glance from Ash while doing so, and I let out a small growl… I was awake.

"Drew?" I asked. I instantly covered my mouth and looked away… curse my big mouth. When he turned around, I looked back in his direction and was met by a too familiar pair of bright green eyes. He looked shocked to see us… especially me.

"Oh… hey May." Drew says awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Absol cocks its head up at us.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Johto?" I say. Please tell me you're going back soon…

"I was but I had some time off so I came back here to visit and train Absol for awhile." Drew explains. "I've been trying to teach it a couple new moves before the next contest I decide to enter."

"Oh that's cool." I say. This was so awkward. I was expecting to see a two headed Trapinch before I saw Drew here.

"What have you been up to?" He asks returing Absol to its pokéball and then walking up to us.

"Just traveling." I say avoiding eye contact.

"I heard Team Magma was on the loose again." Drew says. "Hopefully they're not up to anything."

I begin to laugh nervously and Ash grabs me by the arm and begins to pull me away towards Mauville.

"It was good to see you Drew!" I say still laughing. I was so bad under pressure.

"Uh… you too, May." He says giving me a weird look before walking off.

"We need to teach you how to be better under pressure." Ash says.

"You aren't too good yourself." I stuck my tongue out at him. He sticks his tongue out at me back and we both smile.

"_Kids._" Brock says looking at the two of us strangely.

"At least I don't fall in love with every girl I see." Ash says giving Brock a smug look.

"I don't fall in love with _every_ girl I see. I don't like May or Dawn…" Brock says.

"**What's that supposed to mean?" **Dawn and I say at the same time.

"Nothing! I… er…" Brock began before rushing into the city. Dawn gives me a low five.

"Nice one!" I say.

"Right back at you! Great minds think alike!" She winks.

Mauville City is a really fun town. It has a gym, a game corner, and a bicycle shop. The town itself isn't very big, but it is full of energy, mostly electrical if you know what I'm saying.

We were about to walk into the Center there when we heard Drew's voice call out to us. He runs up and gives us all a funny look.

"You guys are up to something." He says. "I'm not stupid you know."

"I beg to differ." Ash mutters, but Drew didn't hear him. Ash was never too fond of Drew, ever since we met him on the beach and he was downing Beautifly and me. I couldn't blame him though, Drew wasn't one for first impressions. You have to get to know him first.

"Nope, like May said we're just traveling." Dawn says.

"I bet you guys are going to go after Team Magma aren't you? That's why May got all nervous when I brought them up." Drew looks at me. I face-palm.

"Even if we are, you're not coming with us." Brock says.

"Why not? I can help!" Drew argues. "I just taught Flygon a new move and-"

"You're not coming." Ash snaps. Drew turns to me.

"May can I come with you?" He begs. I begin to feel guilty. I used to like Drew and everything… I don't want to hurt him. When I traveled to Johto he was so nice to me and he helped me a lot behind the scenes, but when we would compete in contests he was tougher than ever. I remember I would stay up late at night thinking everything through, my contest strategy, how I felt about Drew, how I missed Ash and Brock, and regret for not continuing to travel with my friends. I got three Johto ribbons and then decided to take a break for awhile. On my break I found myself thinking about all the good times I had with Ash and that's when I realized I liked him.

"I… um… don't know." Smooth, May. Real smooth.

"If you change your mind, just let me know. I'm staying here in the Pokémon Center too." Drew says sadly before leaving. I turn to face my friends.

"C'mon guys. Can't he come along?" I asked. "The more the merrier."

"We will talk about it later." Brock says. "Right now I'm starving." He smiles.

"You think you're starving? I'm so hungry I could eat a bus!" Ash exclaims.

"I bet I could eat two busses." I laugh.

"Here we go again." Brock shakes his head.

"We both know who would win here." Ash raises his eyebrows at me.

"I don't know Ash, May has a big appetite too. She almost beat you in the stew eating contest." Dawn smiles.

"Thank you Dawn!" I high-fived her. "Last one to the restaurant is a Slowpoke?" I asked my friends.

"Oh no. Last one to the restaurant is a rotten Exeggcute!" Ash yells before running out the door.

"Cheater!" Dawn calls out. Brock, Dawn, and I laugh before heading to the restaurant across the street. I look behind us a couple times as we were walking. I might just be paranoid, but I feel as if someone was following us.

"Pikachu, how much ketchup can you have?" I ask. Pikachu puts down his almost down second bottle and looks up at us with a red mustache.

"Pikachu. Pika cha pi." Pikachu says before lifting the bottle up again.

"Translation?" Dawn asks Ash.

"He said 'As much as I want." Ash smiles at his ketchup loving yellow friend.

"Can I get you anything else?" Our waitress asks us.

"Oh yes my dear! A date with me tomorrow at noon!" Brock says standing up and holding her hands. The waitress looks at us pleading for help.

"Ignore him," Ash laughs. "Can I get some ketchup to go?"

"Uh… sure." The waitress says surprised before yanking her hands from Brock's and walking back to the kitchen.

"She should've said 'no need to worry." Dawn says holding her head up with one hand, her elbow on the table.

"How much you want to bet that's the first time someone's asked for that?" I say watching Pikachu as he finished up with his ketchup. It's amazing how much that little guy can eat… or slurp.

"I would probably lose that bet." Dawn says as she looks out the window. Her eyes widen for a bit but she quickly looks away. I look in the direction that she was looking in, but there was no one there.

"Dawn, did you see someone you know?" I ask.

"Oh no. I just saw a cute dress that I liked. No need to worry." She says digging through her bag.

"Oh well maybe we can go get it tomorrow before we leave?" I offer. She nods quickly, her eyes glued down to the bag.

"I can't believe Kai rejected me!" Brock cries about how the waitress said no to him.

"Don't worry Brock. We're leaving here tomorrow anyway." Ash reassures him. Brock sniffs.

"I guess so."

"You'll get to see Nurse Joy." I wink at him. He smiles big and leans back in the booth with his hands behind his head.

"You're right!" He says happily. Ash and I roll our eyes at Brock while Dawn seems lost in space. I'll have to ask her later what's on her mind…

"Here's your ketchup." The waitress says handing two small containers to Ash.

"Thanks." Ash says and hands her the money for our check. "Alright guys, lets go." We begin to stand up, but Dawn stops us.

"No! Guys lets just… sit and talk here for a little bit." She says.

"It's getting dark though… we should probably be heading back." Brock says. Dawn sighs and gets up. We walk out the door and Ash and Brock stop when they see a purple haired guy standing outside of the restaurant.

"Paul?" Ash says with wide eyes.

(Do you guys want Drew to join the journey? What do you think Paul is doing in Hoenn? Drew is 15 and Paul is 16. I didn't want to put their ages at the beginning because that would spoil the surprise! ;) Thanks for reading!)


	7. Chapter 7: Memories with a Twist

Hey guys! I'm going to mix things up a little bit and this chapter is going to be in Maxie and Archie's point of views. Let's just say, things are starting to get very interesting!

Also check out Destined Hero of the Skies by **TheCartoonFanatic101**. This story just gets better and better every time its updated and is the kind of story that makes you want to get online just to see if its been updated or not! Ho-Oh is in danger when a villain attempts to control its power. The other legendary Pokémon set out to protect Ho-Oh, but need the help of Ash and friends. Ash also finds a connection between Ho-Oh and himself that could change everything! I'm obsessed with this story!

Thanks for all the support! It keeps me writing!

**Even though I wish I did, I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter 7: Memories with a Twist: Archie's POV

"Master, it seems that your plan is working." Admin Shelly says. I spin around in my chair to come face to face with my curly red head second in charge.

"I'm not going to let anything get in our way…" I say scrunching up my nose. "Not even those pesky kids will be able to stop us this time."

"Not a chance," She agrees with a smug grin and crosses her arms. "When are you going to let the gym leader go?"

"I'm waiting until the time is right. First I need to talk to Maxie," I explained. "We have to wait until the girl figures out where her father is and comes to save him… that is if she even makes it out of Mt. Chimney."

"Archie you shouldn't underestimate her," Shelly says completely switching gears. I raise an eyebrow at her confused and she sighs. "Just because she is a young teen doesn't mean she isn't strong. She also has friends along with her that are stronger than she is. You can't expect to win just by snapping your fingers. They stopped you once, they could easily do it again." I just laughed at her rant, earning a death stare from her in exchange.

"I'm almost certain this plan won't fail. You have to trust your master, Shelly. Besides just a minute ago you said-"

"I know what I said," She snaps. "And I do trust you, it's just them I don't trust." She says sternly.

The door opens and in comes Matt, my other Admin.

"They're on their way." He announces when he comes through the door. "They're heading to Mt. Chimney."

"When did they leave?" I ask.

"About 20 minutes ago. They had some other people with them. More twerps wanting to cause us more trouble." Matt rolls his eyes.

"I'll tell Maxie in a little bit. First I need to take care of a couple things."

"I'm going to the Sea Cavern. Shelly, you coming?"

"Sure. Would you like to come?" Shelly asks now standing by the doorframe beside Matt.

"No," I stood up. "I'm going to go meet our friend a visit."

I walked down the flight of stairs that lead to the basement. I thought back to a couple years ago when I had an old dream… a dream that seemed unstoppable.

I wanted so badly to expand the sea. That's all I wanted. To make the sea larger. I became so obsessed with power, that I literally went insane. I didn't care if my Team Aqua members drowned or if my Admins Shelly and Matt were hurt, all I wanted was Kyogre and to make my plan reality.

Kyogre… the beautiful legendary water pokémon of the Weather Trio. It seemed like the perfect partner to fulfill my plan. Its ability, Drizzle, makes it rain whenever and wherever Kyogre has surfaced. I had planned to use its ability to flood the land and cover the world in water.

My planned seemed to have been working perfectly… until the moment I realized I had the wrong orb. At Mt. Pyre I had grabbed the Red Orb, which was very stupid on my part considering the Red Orb belongs to Groudon and the Blue Orb belongs to Kyogre. When I found Kyogre sleeping in its cave, I held up the Red Orb, a glorious red light filling the dark cave. However when Kyogre awoke, the Red Orb simply angered the water type, and it fled out of sight.

When I reached the exit of the cave, it was pouring like I had wanted it to… except the water falling from the sky… hurt. The rain was so brutal, you couldn't see a thing and the droplets pierced your skin. I then realized, that my plan had failed.

Maxie seemed to have had the same idea. He wanted to expand the land mass and planned on doing so by waking up Groudon. He too however had the wrong orb and when Groudon's Drought intensified the sun's rays, the heat was unbearable. The mix of Kyogre's rain fall and Groudon's heat wave, and the fact that the two were having a fight-to-the-death-battle would have destroyed the world… if it hadn't been for Rayquaza and May and her friends.

The green legendary dragon flew down from the skies and stopped the fighting, calming both the pokémon down and they soon returned to their caves to sleep once again. Ash and his friends had battled us too, sadly winning and putting an end to everything. When the people around me started to celebrate, it was that moment that I decided I needed to get my revenge.

I unlock the key to one of the cells and open the front gate door. My movement made the prisoner lift his head up and jump down from the top bunk of the bunk bed in the room.

"What do you want, Archie?" He asks. I close the door behind me and turn to face the captive man.

"It seems that your daughter is on her way to Mt. Chimney," I began to pace the room.

"You better not do anything to her!" Norman yells at me with clenched fists. I just smirk and chuckle.

"Oh I won't do anything to her… but I can't make any promises about Maxie."

Norman's eyes widened and the color from his face disappeared. He gets onto his knees and pounds the concrete ground with his fist.

"What is he going to do to her?" Norman shouts looking up at me from the ground.

"Lets just say she has a little surprise waiting for her on top of the mountain… you might want to say a prayer tonight." I laugh.

"Please, I'll give you anything you want but just please don't hurt May!" His begging surprised me… and I began to feel something inside me… guilt? Nah. I'm a villain and we don't feel guilt.

"I'm afraid you can't give me what I want. You're weak." I spat at him.

"I'm stronger than you are." Norman glares.

"Whatever you say, monkey boy. Don't worry, if I hear anything about your daughter I will be sure to let you know." And with that I left the prison.

"I hope you get swallowed by a Wailord!" Norman yells at me.

On my way back to my office I went through every step in my mind of Maxie and my plan. It was so perfect, so simple, there was no way it could fail. I smirk to myself. The whole Hoenn Region, heck the whole entire world would shortly belong to Team Magma and Team Aqua.

I dial Shelly on my phone and wait for her to answer.

"Yes sir?" She asks.

"I'm coming to the Sea Cavern. Have Matt come get me in the submarine."

About an hour later the submarine finally showed up and Matt stuck his head out.

"Hop on in." He says with a grin.

We reach the underwater cave and walk through the entrance. Over the years we had totally rebuilt this place. The old rocky walls were now covered with tracking equipment and computers with internet access. Grunts were at stations typing away on their keyboards and there was even a training facility room to the right.

The cave was very large. The ceiling towered above us about 100 feet away. Golbats and Zubats hung upside from the ceiling waiting to attack intruders. They opened their eyes, well the Golbats did at least, when we walked in, but when they recognized us they went back to just hanging.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"Hi-ya boss!"

"Yo Matt!"

Whenever we walked by the grunts they shouted remarks or waved at us. We greeted them back, and headed towards the back of the cave.

Matt and I walked through an arched doorway, finally reaching our destination. In the very middle of the cave was a huge lake we built to keep Kyogre in once we caught it. The stench of salt radiated from the damp blue crystal implanted walls and a warm white mist covered the clear water. The steam radiating from the water made the room feel a hundred degrees warmer. A huge form was swimming under the waves with an amazing speed, faster than any machine could ever go. I watched in amazement as Kyogre elegantly leaps from the water and lands with a big splash.

"Incredible huh?" A voice says. Shelly, who was writing a couple things down on a pad of paper, smiled over at Matt and I. We walked over to her and she hands me the notepad.

"I was researching Kyogre." She explains. A couple sketches of the legendary water type with small writing pointing to different parts of the creature filled the page.

"Good work." I told her. "Has anyone heard from Team Magma?"

"No." Shelly and Matt say at the same time.

"Well I think it's time for me to give him a call." I say pulling out my phone and dialing his number. I look down at the pokémon swimming in the water and smile. The world would finally be ours.

Maxie's POV:

Flashback:

_"Place the Meteorite there." I pointed to the small glass cylinder like machine to my right. Courtney, one of my Admins, nods and opens the top of the container, gently placing the rock where it belongs. She closes the metal lid and turns to me for further instructions. _

"_Go ahead and gather up the others and wait at the edge of the peak. I will take it from here."_

_ "Anything else?"_

"_No. Thank you, that will be all."_

_ "As you wish." She says before walking away to go gather up the others, giving me my space. I kneel down and stare at the rock sitting in the bottom of the glass case. This Meteorite… by amplifying its power will cause Mt. Chimney to erupt. Groudon has to be here. It would make perfect sense… the lava, the tropical temperature… it has got to be here. I place one hand on the glass and sigh. Groudon is the only way to make my plan work. To expand the land mass… land is everything. It gives us humans a place to live and advance, it will give new species of pokémon space to evolve, think of all the wonderful things we could do if we had more land…_

_ "__**Maxie!**__" a voice booms from behind. I scrunch my eyes closed and groan. I slowly get up and face Archie, the leader of Team Aqua and also my rival. "Don't you know what you're doing?" He demands motioning a hand towards the machine. "If you continue with your destructive plan then you will dry up the oceans."_

_ "That's the plan isn't it?" I sneer at the pirate-dressed man. "If this world had more land it would be for the better. Better for us, Archie. You just don't understand."_

_ "I do understand. I understand that you have a dream that you want to fulfill, but what you don't understand is the dangerous outcome that will occur if you go on with your plan!"_

_ "__**Enough!**__" I silence him. "You have a dream too. Why aren't you going along with it?"_

_ "Because I have to stop you first. Look around." _

_ I look past Archie to see the grunts of Team Magma and the grunts of Team Aqua battling. Mightyenas, Golbats, Sharpedos, and Camerupts were fighting all across the mountaintop. I turn back to Archie._

_ "Since you came up here to stop me, why aren't you doing anything?" I place my hand on the activation switch, ready to power on the machine._

_ "What's going on here?" A young girl runs up the mountainside and towards Archie and myself. _

_ "May stay out of this." Archie snaps at her. I glare at the familiar girl. She had stopped my plans at the Oceanic Museum in Slateport. It seems she was a threat after all._

_ "Stop! You don't realize what you're about to do!" May pleads to me._

_ "Yes I do. Humans grow on dry land, land is everything to us! Imagine all the possibilities if there was more land!" I say._

_ "But we also need the oceans!" She argues. "We need water as much as we need land!"_

_ "Little girl, if you think you can stop me, then I'd like to see you try."_

_ She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pokéball. _

_ "Let's battle." She says throwing the ball into the air. Out came a Combusken._

_ "Go Mightyena!" I shout._

_ A few moments later and the battle was over. May had won. I stare at her in disbelief. I lost… how could I have lost…?_

_ I turn to my glorious machine, placing one hand on the glass for a last time. A beautiful plan that would have worked… I didn't even get the chance to put it into action…_

_ "I shall go." I whisper ashamed looking down at the machine. I remove my hand and look up at the girl and my rival. "Team Magma will prevail. Just you wait." I hiss through my teeth before running to the cable car to head back to base. Just you wait, I repeated over and over in my head. I smirk to myself as I run. We will prevail… we will prevail._

End of flashback.

I stared up at the mountain that brought back that horrible memory from so many years ago. One of the many failed attempts of my past. May, a child at the time, had actually beaten me… me! Maxie, the leader of Team Magma! It made no sense!

I glance up at the sky. The ashes from the volcano fell from the sky, floating down like snowflakes. I knew they would be here any minute. The kids would surely follow us here.

"Sir… are you coming?" Tabitha calls from the ski lift. I look up at my team and slowly walk over, getting into the cable car. The machine begins to lift into the air as we are taken to the peak of Mt. Chimney. When we get to the top, the 7 grunts, my two Admins, and myself walk over to the lava pit that sat in the center.

I feel something buzz in my pocket and I pull out my phone.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Maxie, it's Archie."

"I'm here now. I just have to wait until they get here."

"Good, I gave the dad a mini heart attack." Archie laughs from the other side of the line. I laugh with him.

"So after the deed is done are you going to let him go or keep him there?"

"Depends. We will just have to wait and see. Right now I'm at the Sea Cavern. In the next few days or so we should meet in Mossdeep City to discuss the next part of our plan."

"I'll meet you at the Space Center tomorrow at 3."

"Bring Tabitha and Courtney. Shelly and Matt have an idea I think your Admins would love to hear."

"Alright. When do you think they will be here?"

"My spy told me they left the Pokémon Center this morning so they should be there anytime now."

"I'm going to get things together. If you hear anything else, let me know."

"Okay bye." He says. I hang up with my partner in crime and shove the phone back into my pocket. Things sure have changed over the years. After Archie and my plan both failed we realized that both our teams alone were just too weak. Archie visited my office one day and suggested that we joined forces and split the power evenly. From that day forward, Archie and I became business partners and Team Magma and Team Aqua became acquaintances instead of sworn enemies.

Archie and I came up with a plan that was so brilliant that it made our old plans look like 5 minute blueprints. We finally had gotten the right orbs and caught the legendaries we had pursued before. We also had another trick up our sleeve that no one would see coming. Now that we were more than doubled in strength, nothing would stop us now.

Suddenly I hear voices speak from the bottom of the mountain. I jog to the edge and look down. There standing outside the cable car building was Ash with his Pikachu, May, and Brock. Alongside them was a blue haired girl who I remember seeing back in Rustboro. A boy with green hair was standing on one side of May, the other side occupied by Ash, and a taller purple haired guy stood next to the blue haired girl. What was her name again? Debra… Diane… it started with a D.

The teens begin to pile into a cable car and I turn back to the others.

"Sir what do you suppose we do?" Courtney asks from the lava pit. I grab an ultra ball out of my red and black lab coat. I had finally done it. I had captured the pokémon I've been longing for since the day I thought up my plan. Now that I think about it I was very foolish not to catch it before. I smile down at the sphere in my hand and hold it out to show everyone.

"Bring out Groudon," I smirk at my team and then my eyes fall to the ultra ball. "It has some business to take care of."

(What did you guys think? What will Maxie do with Groudon on Mt. Chimney? What will happen to our heroes? What do you think Archie is up to? Comment, rate, review! Thanks for reading!)


	8. Chapter 8: Tricked and Burned

1,000 views?! 21 reviews?! Thank you so much guys! That seriously means a lot to me!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I updated, but I just started high school and I'm on the softball team so everything has been so chaotic lately, but I finally found some time to write, so here we go!

Chapter 8: Tricked and Burned: May's POV:

Ever since I woke up early this morning I've had a weird feeling in my stomach. I was laying in bed, staring up at the bottom of the bunk above me, thoughts spinning around in my head. I was worried about my dad. Was he alright? Where was he? I hope he's at Mt. Chimney and we can save him… if he's not there…

I let that thought slip away. He has to be there. Maxie even said that he was heading to Mt. Chimney so no doubt my father was there as well. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and slowly get up, trying not to wake up my traveling partners. I tip toe to the door, open it, and silently shut it behind me.

I'm met by the cold morning air as I step outside of the Pokémon Center. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I just needed time to sit and think things through. I find a bench on the side of the building and I sit down, wrapping my arms around my knees. I stuff my face into my arms and begin to cry.

After a few minutes of sobbing I feel something gently touch my shoulder. I jump a little and my eyes meet a familiar pair of brown ones that nearly take my breath away.

"What's wrong, May?" Ash looks down at me, concerned. My heart skips a beat and I let out a sigh.

"My dad…" I whisper.

"We'll find him, May. I promise." Ash says as he sits next to me on the bench. His black hair sat messily on his head from just waking up and he was wearing a pair of jeans and his pajama shirt. I scoot over a little, giving him more room.

"I hope we will… just the fact that he could be hurt right now is a lot to take in. Not to mention I have no idea where he is…" I sniff before putting my head on his shoulder. I wasn't sure why I did it, but I was glad Ash was here. I felt a little better already. Maybe all I needed was someone to comfort me and tell me everything was going to be alright.

What surprises me next is that Ash puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me a little closer. He probably did it to be the amazing friend he was, but I would've never pictured him making a move like this. We just sit on the bench for a few moments, watching the sun creep up into the sky as the darkness of early morning begins to fade.

"Did I wake you?" I ask him, hoping I didn't.

"I was already awake when I heard you walk out. I couldn't really sleep last night, but when you left I thought I would come out here and check on you."

"I'm glad you did. I feel better. Thank you, Ash." I smile at him. He returns the grin.

"What are friends for?" He begins to move so I slide my head off of him and he stands up. "Now let's go force Brock to make us some food." He smirks holding a hand out to me. I laugh, taking his hand, and letting him lead me back into the center.

The two of us snoop back into the bedroom and over to where Brock was snoring away, face down against his slobber covered pillow. Ash suddenly pounces on the end of the bed and begins to jump up and down.

"Brock! Yo Brock-o! Rock with a B!" Ash begins to chant as he jumps, making me crack up. Brock slowly sits up and glares at us.

"You want food don't you?" Brock simply says before sliding out of bed.

"Now what would make you think that?" Ash says with an innocent smile.

"Because that's all you ever want from me." Brock chuckles before digging through his bag for something. Hopefully its edible…

"Morning, Brock." I smile at him, hoping he wasn't mad at Ash and I. It's not our faults we were addicted to food.

"Morning, May." He mocks me. Yeah he was mad…

"Why don't I cook today?" I offered. Just then the bedroom door opens and in walks in a green haired boy.

"May, you can't even make toast right…" Drew jokes making me laugh hard. Back when Drew and I were in Johto and I was confused about my feelings for him, I tried to make breakfast for the both of us, but my eggs ended up undercooked and my toast burned to a crisp from being left in the toaster too long. Drew and I had to fan out the kitchen with paper fans and spray a lot of my berry perfume to cover up the horrible stench. The mixing scents made it nearly impossible to breathe, so Drew and I opened all the windows and stayed outside until the air was clean again.

"It was one time! And besides you distracted me from popping up the toast!" I protested. Drew just smiles and winks at me.

"No I got it, May. I'm already up. Might as well cook." Brock shrugs.

"**Food!**" Ash and I both yell with a fist up in the air, making all four of us laugh.

"Did I hear something about food?" Dawn asks walking into the room with Paul behind her.

"Brock's cooking!" Ash chirps.

"Yes!" Dawn says jumping into the air.

When the food was finally ready we all sit down around a table and begin to dig in.

"So Paul, what brings you to Hoenn?" Ash asks with a mouthful of food.

"Training and exploring." Paul simply shrugs. An awkward silence fills the table.

"What kind of pokémon do you have?" I ask him.

"Strong ones."

"Paul is a really strong trainer," Brock agrees. "He's beaten Ash a couple of times." Ash throws his spoon down onto the table.

"I've beaten him too!" Ash yells making all of us chuckle.

"You both are really good trainers." Dawn reassures them both. "You two should have a rematch battle sometime."

"That's a great idea!" Ash agrees. "How about it, Paul?"

"Maybe. We'll see." He raises the corner of his mouth into a small smile.

After we eat we begin to walk towards Mt. Chimney. The top of the mountain was in sight, we would be there really soon.

"So May, how have you been?" Drew asks randomly. I feel two pairs of eyes on me. One of them Drew's, the others were Ash's.

"I've been good up until now. After we complete our mission I will give you a for sure answer." I say. "How have you been?"

"Really good. Harley keeps talking about how cute you and I are together and everything, which I agree with by the way." He winks at me. I feel my cheeks heat up from the compliment and out of the corner of my eye I see Ash move, coming closer to where Drew and I were walking next to each other.

"Hey May, can you help me with something?" Ash asks suddenly, yanking me gently away from Drew, who shoots him a glare before continuing to walk away.

"So you and rose boy, huh?" Ash asks crossing his arms, Pikachu perched up on his shoulder.

"What? No! I mean I used to like him… but I don't anymore." Ash remains silent as we walk. "Why do you care anyway?" I ask quite curious.

"It's your choice, but I think Drew is the wrong one for you…" Ash says looking at me in the eyes. I stare back at him confused. Was that supposed to be some kind of hint? Was he jealous? Did he know someone who liked me?

"Why do you think that?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"Just an opinion."

"There has to be some sort of reason why you feel that way." I try to get it out of him.

"There is."

"What is it?"

"It's nothing." Ash begins to jog away from me.

"Ash, wait!" I beg but he keeps on running, stopping next to Brock and begins a conversation with him.

"Is Ash okay?" Dawn asks walking up next to me.

"Something is bothering him but he won't tell me what it is." I explain.

"I think he's jealous of Drew… but he just won't admit it to himself."

"Why would Ash be jealous of Drew?"

"Because you used to like him." Dawn puts a hand on my shoulder. "I think Ash likes you, May."

I was speechless. There was so much I wanted to say but no words came out. My heart was beating a hundred times a second it felt like. My mind was blank, besides the six words Dawn just said. Ash… likes me? He might actually like me?

I look up to where he was walking and I meet his eyes for a short second before he quickly looks away. I smile to myself.

"You think so?" I ask Dawn with a huge smile on my face. She giggles.

"Definitely. Why wouldn't he?" She winks. I laugh.

"So is something going on with you and Paul?" I ask, nudging her gently in the stomach with my elbow.

"No. My lips are sealed." She pretends to lock her lips with a key and throws the 'key' over her head.

"C'mooooon." I beg her. "Tell me!"

"No were talking about your love life right now." She smirks.

"No were talking about yours!"

"No yours!"

"Yours!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

We both finally stop and laugh together.

"Well since I used to like Ash I haven't really thought about anyone else that way so things are kind of confusing right now, but I don't like Paul." Dawn says looking down at her feet.

"Are you sure you're fine with me going after Ash? I totally understand if you don't want me to and I won't if you're not okay with it…"

"I promise you I'm fine with it. He obviously likes you anyway." She smiles at me.

"Thanks girl." I give her a quick hug that she returns.

"No problem, Mrs. Ketchum."

Ash's POV:

We reach the bottom of Mt. Chimney and begin to pile into a cable car to go up to the top. I could tell May was really nervous, and the more the car climbed, the more nervous she got. She was currently leaning against Drew, who had an arm extended around her shoulders… almost exactly like the moment her and I had earlier this morning.

I hate to admit it but I lied when I said she didn't wake me up, she did but I just didn't want her to feel bad about it. I'm glad she did though because she obviously needed someone to talk to and I would be there for May anytime of the day, any day of the week if she needed me. That's what best friends are for.

This morning when May had laid her head on my shoulder I was a little surprised, but it also made me happy. Happy at the fact that she trusted me so much and that I knew I could trust her as well. She was going through a really hard time right now and the one thing she needed was a shoulder to lie on, so there I was. Now I was replaced by Drew and it hurt…

The thought of May and Drew together bothered me. I wasn't a huge fan of Drew, since the first time he met May he criticized her and her Beautifly, but I don't hate him. They're rivals and rivals together… I can see it happening but what if their relationship got in the way of their training and contests?

As I look over at the two of them, my heart stings with disappointment, something I'm used to from the times I've lost battles, but this feeling… it was completely new to me. It wasn't just disappointment… I also felt angry. Angry towards myself and also towards Drew.

What was happening? It makes no sense for me to get mad at Drew for putting his arm around May… unless I'm jealous… my shoulders slump as realization hits me square in the face. I have feelings for May. It took me this long to figure that out?

The times I would feel like her sadness was my fault. The time I went by myself and saved her from those crazy grass pokémon. The time we got into a huge argument and were accused of being in love. The time she clutched my arm to save me from doing something stupid when I was mad at Lucario. The time we swam in the ocean with Manaphy and a school of Luvdisc surrounded us… all of these memories come flooding back to me. How did I not realize this until now? I guess I was too caught up in my dream to be a Pokémon Master that I hadn't thought about anything else… especially the fact that I might like one of my best friends…

We were getting near the top and I take in a deep breath. Focus, Ash. There are more important things happening right now. A small ding followed by the opening of the door left the six of there standing there wondering who was going to go first. I slowly trudge toward the opening; followed by my friends, and look across the rocky grounds… it was empty.

"Guys I don't see them anywhere, maybe they're not-"

"**Groudon! Use Earthquake!**" A voice yells from somewhere in the distance, interrupting me. Suddenly the lava pit in the middle of the mountain begins to bubble. An 11 foot red dinosaur like creature rises up from the burning liquid. Spikes travel down its sides, black ancient symbols cover its body, and its big angry yellow eyes glare down at us. We freeze and a scary silence fills the air for a second before Groudon's horrible roar takes over and it stomps a huge foot onto the ground.

The rocky earth underneath us begins to shake and we all scream, trying to hold on to the ground for dear life. Dawn begins to slip down the side, but I manage to grab her hand and pull her to me, pinning us both down. Paul was holding onto a giant rock, Brock digging his nails into the ground, and Drew had an arm extended around May as they both held on, trying not to slip off of the mountain. What scared me the most though was they were awfully close to the edge… and getting closer every second.

"**Drew, May, everyone hold on!**" I yell over the violent vibrations erupting from the rapid shaking. "**Dawn! Try to reach into my pocket and bring out Swellow's Pokéball!**" I shout. She begins to search for the Pokéball and as we begin to slip closer to the edge, she finally finds the right one. Then the shaking stops.

We slowly stand up with wobbly legs and everyone seems to be alright, thank goodness. A helicopter is floating in the air above us, and standing in the open entry way is Maxie, who is smirking down at us.

"You stupid kids! You have no chance against us now. I have captured Groudon and it's under my control." He shouts down at us.

"**Where's my father?**" May frantically yells.

"Not here obviously." Maxie laughs to himself. "Now if you excuse me, I have a business meeting to get to. Groudon, another Earthquake should scare them away, don't you think?" Maxie says before the helicopter takes off into the distance. Groudon stomps down and the vibrating begins again.

May slips down towards the edge of the mountain and she screams terrified, desperately trying to stop her rolling. She falls off, but her hand manages to grab the side of the cliff and she holds on, crying out for help.

"**Ash!**" She cries out to me. Something inside me feels like it's been ignited. Knowing that May is in danger, sends me into hyper mode. I begin to slide down to get to her, my blood boiling inside of me, heart beating so fast I swear it was going to stop.

"**May!**" I scream back to her. I finally reach her and just as I am about to grab her hand, her fingers slip from the edge.


	9. Chapter 9: Call Me Crazy

I'm so sorry it has been so long since I've posted! I just recently broke part of my hand playing softball and well… yeah. Haha! Here's the next part!

Chapter 9: Call Me Crazy: Ash's POV

"**May!**" I screamed as she let go off the edge. I did the next thing I could think of. I jumped. Yep… I jumped off the side of a mountain… I'm not a very smart cookie am I?

All I knew was that May was in danger and… that was nowhere near okay. I had to do something to save her and I had so little time to think it through. In fact, I had no time at all. My feet moved before my brain could tell them not to.

The air was bitter cold as I soared downwards. I reached out a hand, aiming to grab her as she tossed and turned in the air. I moved my head closer to my chest, allowing me to increase speed. I finally interlocked my fingers with hers and pulled her up to me. I wrapped my arms tightly around her as we fell closer and closer to the ground.

Paul's POV:

"**Grou!**" The very mad Groudon roared from the lava pit. It had already used Earthquake again and we were currently holding on for dear life. That's when I saw Ash jump over the side of the mountain. This amazed me. I've never seen Ash make such a daring move before…

I looked up and saw his Swellow circling us from the air above before it darted down and out of sight, going after Ash and May. Pikachu scurries to my side.

"**Groudon use Eruption!**" A new voice calls from somewhere. I turn my attention to where the voice came from and a boy comes out from behind the legendary Pokémon. He was a member of Team Magma, wearing the red and black uniform, but his identity was hidden behind thick black sunglasses and the hood of the shirt perched on his head. A small piece of his purple hair fell in his face.

A dark red light surrounds Groudon. The ray of light shoots up into the sky as an ear-piercing growl comes from the ground-type. The flames created from the light come down on us. I cover Dawn and Pikachu, using my back as a shield, and the flames burn through my shirt and onto my bare back. I yelp out in pain and hear my name being called by Dawn, who had tears in her eyes.

"I'm fine," I lie to reassure her.

"**No you're not!**" She yells. I ignore her, choosing to argue about this later, before I feel my legs give out and I collapse onto the rocky ground.

"Mudkip, come on out!" I hear an unharmed Brock say. I look to my right, Drew was alright as well. Thank goodness he and Drew had managed to dodge the flames. A small blue water type with little orange patches on its cheeks comes out. "Use Water Gun on Paul's back!"

"Mud! Mud!" It calls before shooting water onto the burned part of my back. I suck in a breath through my clenched teeth and Dawn softly takes my hand.

"Thank you for saving me." She smiles down at me with big blue eyes.

"I would do-" But I'm cut off by a laughing grunt.

"You guys are so pathetic. You seriously think you can stop us? I'd like to see you try." The Team Magma says smugly as he brings out an Ultra Ball, Groudon disappearing inside of it.

"Just you wait!" I fire back at him.

Pikachu begins to yell things in his language, "Pika Pi! Chuuu Pika Chaaa!"

"Says the grape head who got burned by my Pokémon's attack… I'm terrified!" He says waving his arms around before laughing to himself. "We just got rid of your two key players, you know."

"We could whoop your butt any time, any day!" Drew says.

"Whatever you say, Kiwi Brain. Ash and grape head were your only chances. Now Ash is gone and well… purple hair can't even stand."

"Battle me then. You're not all that tough!" Drew carries on with confidence. Brock puts a hand on Drew's shoulder and Drew lets out a sigh of defeat knowing that we would lose the fight.

"That's what I thought, oh and tell the blue haired girl to call me sometime." He makes a phone symbol with his free hand.

"**That's it!**" I snap attempting to stand up, making Dawn release my hand, but I fall back down, the unbearable pain not allowing me to stand. Dawn leans over me concerned and the man laughs.

"I think I hit a nerve there." He chuckles. I glare at him and Dawn takes my hand again.

"As if I would date a scum like you." Dawn smirks at him. I smile at her, that's my girl.

The wind begins to pick up as a blue helicopter with a giant A on the side comes into view.

"See you around, fruit salad." The boy, with Groudon's Ultra Ball in his hand, says before he climbs aboard and the helicopter climbs into the air and disappears from sight.

"Did you recognize the symbol?" Drew whispers to a shocked Brock.

"Yes, it was Team Aqua's helicopter."

Ash's POV:

"**Swellow!**" My Normal-Flying type's voice echoes as it becomes closer to us. I look up and see it flying down towards us. It swoops under us and I quickly grab its neck as it takes off upwards again.

"Thank you for saving us." I smile and pet my Swellow's neck.

"Swell! Swell!" It chirps. It slows down and lands in the grass at the bottom of the mountain. I look down at May passed out in my arms. A depressing sadness comes over me as I look down at my harmed best friend. One of the girls I cared most about…

It was amazing the things she did to me. Before today I didn't think I would have the courage to do anything like jump off of a mountain like I did when I went after her. Aside the time I went to save Pikachu… All I know is that when it hit me that she was in serious danger, I had to make her safe again. No matter what it took to do so.

I check her pulse and breathing. Perfectly normal. I breathe a sigh of relief and sit down in the grass with May laying across my lap. I need to go help my friends fight but what about May…?

"Swellow I'm going back up there. Watch May and make sure she's okay. If she tries to leave or come back up the mountain, don't let her."

Swellow nods at me. I slowly stand up, placing May down in the grass softly, and I run for the cable car. As it carried me to the top of the mountain, I tapped my foot impatiently. I hope my friends are alright…

The car stops moving and I rush out of the door to see everyone crowded around Paul. I hurry over there and look down at him. He was laid on his right side, Brock applying an ointment to a huge burn along his back, while Dawn held his hand as he hissed in pain. Drew was standing and watching over him.

"What happened?!" I demanded. Everyone looked up at me at that moment.

"**Ash!"** Dawn yells getting up and hugging me tightly. I smile and hug her back, happy to see that she was okay. Pikachu comes next and nearly tackles me. I laugh and give him a little hug as he returns to his usual spot, my shoulder.

"Are you and May alright?!" Brock demands as he finishes applying the cream to Paul's injury before giving me a hug.

"Please tell me May's alright." Drew says with wide eyes.

"We're both fine." I glare at Drew who rolls his eyes.

"Where is she then?" Drew says.

"I left her down at the bottom with Swellow protecting her. I had to make sure everyone else was alright."

"We need to get Paul to the hospital as soon as possible." Dawn pleas. I nod and help Brock pick Paul up, carrying him face down, as we all head towards the cable car.

We reach the bottom of the mountain just as May wakes up. She looks around confused and Drew rushes over to her, wrapping his arms around her. I feel my cheeks heat up and anger boil inside of me. That should be _me._ I didn't see Drew jump off of a mountain to save her.

"What happened?" She mutters, her voice cracking.

"You fell off of the mountain and Ash's Swellow saved you." Drew explains.

"May, I jumped-" I began to say but I'm cut off by Drew.

"I went after you, May. Then Ash's Swellow came and caught us. But c'mon we have to get Paul to a doctor." Drew rushes us. I stare at him stunned. He lied right to her face about who really saved her.

"Thank you for saving me, Drew." May says giving him a hug. He blushes bright red and I feel Brock's and Dawn's eyes look at me shocked. My heart breaks in half and I shake my head.

"Let's just go." I sigh as we get Paul onto Swellow carefully.

"I'll go with him," Dawn says climbing onto Swellow's back and taking off into the air, heading back towards Mauville.

"May and I are going to fly on Flygon." Drew says bringing out his Ground-Dragon type.

"You can't just make up a decision for her." I snap at him. May looks at me confused and Drew walks up to me.

"Neither can you, Ketchum." Drew shoves me a little.

"I can take you any day, Pretty Boy." I shove him back.

"Knock it off!" May says standing in between us with her arms stretched out. "I'll just go with Brock on his Crobat."

"I think I'll walk." I say bluntly as I begin to head down the path we just came from. I needed time to myself anyway.

Dawn's POV:

"How are you feeling?" I ask Paul as I found myself twirling a piece of his purple hair around my finger.

"Better. The ointment really helped."

An awkward silence came over us. I search through my mind for something to talk about, but Paul beats me to it.

"Are we… um… you know…" He whispered, his cheeks faintly red. I've never seen Paul blush before… it was cute.

"Are we what?" I asked him.

"Never mind." I stare down at him for a moment before looking at the sunset around us as we flew through the air. It was really pretty… the mixture of warm colors…reds and oranges and yellows… it was… well romantic. "You used to like Ash, didn't you?" I turn my attention back to Paul.

"I still kind of do. I can't get over him so easily… I mean I've liked him for so long… but I will be able to get over him eventually…"

He just nods, another silence filling the air. I looked down at him. His eyes were closed and breathing soft and calming. His purple locks were blowing in the wind. I found myself not being able to take my eyes off of him. I always knew Paul was special, a determined trainer with a dream. That's when it hit me. The admiration I've had for Paul was more than that… I had feelings for the stubborn boy.

"Why did you come with me?"

"I've never flown on a Swellow before." I answer smirking. He raises an eyebrow at me and I laugh. "I had to make sure you were okay… you saved me after all." I say looking up at the sky once again.

"I'd do anything for you, Dawn." He whispers. I look back down at him, his eyes were closed and he was softly snoring. Maybe I was just imagining him saying that… Paul doesn't seem like the romantic type anyways. One of his eyes open and he winks at me once before going back to sleep once again.

Ash's POV:

"I can't believe he did that, Pikachu…" I whisper to my best friend sitting on my shoulder.

"Pika…" He agrees slumping his shoulders.

"Can't believe he did what?" I hear her voice ask. I stop in my tracks and turn to face May.

"I thought you were going with Mr. Hero." My own sarcasm and jealousy surprises me.

"He went ahead without me, so did Brock. I told them I wanted to walk with you." She catches up to me and we begin to walk side by side. "So who were you talking about?" She asks.

"Drew…" My voice filled with venom as I said his name.

"What did he do? Are you jealous of him?"

"Why should I be jealous of someone who lied to you?" I ask looking at her dead in the eye. She looks at me confused, scrunching her forehead.

"What did he lie to me about…?"

"Did you honestly believe him when he said he saved you?" I ask her.

"Yes… because it's something he would do."

I stop walking and grab her arm. "But he didn't. I did."

"Wait… you did?"

"Yes. I was the one who jumped off of the mountain to save you, not him."

"Ash I…" She pauses and then smiles. "Thank you. You saved my life." She hugs me tightly and I wish I could stay like this forever. "And don't worry, I'll take care of him." She whispers in my ear.

"Why did you believe me so easily?" I ask her. She lets go of me and takes a step back.

"Are you saying you lied to me?" She demands.

"What? No! I was just wondering why you took my side instead of his… I thought you liked him."

"I did… but that was awhile back… and I believed you because you've never lied to me, but he has."

"You're one of my best friends… I'd never lie to you." I reassure her. She smiles a little.

"Right back at you."

"Race you to Mauville?" I ask her.

She begins to run ahead of me, calling over her shoulder, "You're on!"

"Cheater!" I laugh as I take off after her.

We reach the Pokémon Center a little after 10:30 and Nurse Joy looks up at us from her magazine when we walk in.

"The others went to bed. I'll tell you all the news tomorrow morning." She says.

"Is Paul okay?" May asks.

"He will be."

I walk May to her room and we stop outside her door, hearing muffled sobs come from the other side. May slowly knocks on the door and a red-eyed Dawn slowly opens it.

"Aw Dawn…" May whispers hugging her.

"It's all… my fault… I should be the …one hurt …not …him." Dawn says in between breaths as she begins to cry again. May releases her from the hug and drags her into the room. She comes back to the door and slowly begins to shut it but stops.

"I'll convince her that it's not her fault." May tells me.

"Tell her that I say the same thing."

May nods and comes a little closer to me, softly kissing my cheek.

"Thank you again Mr. Hero." She whispers and winks before shutting the door. I stood there for a moment before doing an extremely stupid looking happy dance.

"Oh yeah! Uh huh! Who's the man? I am!" I dance around the hallway.

"Ash! Shhhhh!" Nurse Joy comes around the corner and shoots me a dagger.

"Sorry…" I whisper before silently dancing down the hallway towards my room. I swear all the Nurse Joys out there hate me.

The next morning:

"Paul will have to stay with us for awhile." Nurse Joy says as we all sit down around a table. A basket filled with muffins and a pitcher of Moo Moo Milk sat in the center, but we were too depressed to eat.

"So he won't be able to continue the journey with us…" Brock says sadly.

"I'm afraid not…" Nurse Joy says.

"Someone should stay here with him." I say looking around the table at everyone sitting with us. May was seated next to me, her hand rested on my knee. Drew was next to her but May was shifted a little away from him, disappointed about how he lied to her. Brock was next to Drew, looking down at his fingers. Dawn, sitting next to Brock, met my eyes and nodded.

"I will." She volunteers. "He would want me to." We all nod in agreement.

"We will check in every day when we get to a Pokémon Center. Let us know how he's doing." Brock says.

"Will do." Dawn presses her lips together. I felt really bad. She still felt like she caused his injury because she was the one that he was protecting when it happened. Last night May explained to her multiple times that it wasn't her fault and I did earlier this morning… but she didn't believe us.

"I feel really bad about leaving him here…" May says.

"We have to find your dad though…" Drew adds.

"I agree," I added. "We know Paul will be okay, and we have to keep searching for your dad, May. We can't let time get the best of us and Paul would want us to keep going."

"You're right…" She says.

"Can we see him before we go?" I ask Nurse Joy.

"I'm afraid he's resting right now…"

"Tell him that we will keep in touch." Brock says standing. "Ready to head out?" He turns to us. Drew, May, and I stand up.

"Thank you for everything." May says giving Dawn and hug.

"You too, May. And remember what we talked about." Dawn winks at her.

"Bye Dawn, thank you for doing this for us." I give her a hug.

"Not a problem at all." She smiles. Drew and Brock say their goodbyes as well.

"Wait, May this came in the mail for you." Nurse Joy says handing her a small package. May stares at it for a second.

"No return address?" She asks confused. She slowly rips it open and pulls out a scroll and a piece of paper. She unfolds the paper.

"What does it say?" I ask peeking over her shoulder.

"It says 'I know where your dad is. Follow the map and instructions. –M" May says as she read the letter.

Brock undoes the scroll and it turns out to be a map off a Team Aqua hideout in Lilycove City. Instructions of how to get inside the base, including passwords, and even a key was taped to the back of the sheet.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Dawn asks.

"No… I think luck is finally on our side." Brock smiles at all of us.

I grin confidently and say, "Look out Team Aqua. You guys have no idea what's coming your way."

(Rate and review! Thanks so much for reading!)


	10. Chapter 10: Old Friends and Confessions

Woo hoo! New Chapter! Thank you for all the reviews and favorites! I can't thank you guys enough!

Chapter 10: Old Friends and Confessions: May's POV:

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I asked my fellow travel-ees as we headed toward Fortree City. We were currently walking along Route 119, one of the, if not the longest, routes in all of Hoenn. The sun was beginning to go down and we were going to camp out along the long river once it became dark.

"Yes, I'm sure." Brock simply states, eyes, as always, glued to the map. I had chosen to walk beside Brock ever since Ash and Drew got into a huge argument earlier today. It started out like this…

Earlier:

"**Ash! Would you mind **_**not**_** stepping on my foot for once? I'm not going to have any toes left!**" Drew yells as he stops walking for a more dramatic impact. Ash stops walking too and turns around to face the green haired boy, hence he was walking a little bit ahead of him.

"**It's called walking too close to the person in front of you, Drew. Maybe you should back off a little. What? Have a crush on me or something?**" Ash fought right back. His comments surprised me, Ash usually wasn't one to use negative sarcasm. Drew on the other hand, well…

"**You wish, Ashy-boy.**" Drew smirks.

"Guys…" I started to say.

"**Only Gary can call me that!**"

"Guys."

"**And you're calling **_**me**_** the gay one?**"

"**GUYS!**" I shouted, finally getting the attention of the two immature boys. "Look we're on a mission right now, can the bickering wait 'til later? Please?" I pleaded. After exchanging a glare with each other, they both slowly nod. "Thank you." I turn back around to Brock to continue giving him advice about Nurse Joy. "Don't worry Brock, there are plenty of Nurse Joys out there…"

Not even 10 minutes later…

"**How dare you insult my mother!**" Ash randomly says.

"All I said was I think I just saw a Gloom…?" Drew questions.

Ash mouth drops open, "**Are you saying my mother is emo?**"

And with that the argument continued for a couple more minutes before I broke it off again. Then another one began. And another. And another. And another.

Present time:

"It's getting dark, we should probably set up camp." Drew calls from behind us.

"Good idea." Brock says rolling up the map. We set up a tent and Ash and I decide to go searching for firewood, starting up another fight between Ash and Drew about who got to go with me, but Drew finally gave in and agreed to stay back with Brock to help get things ready for dinner.

"What's been going on with you?" I ask Ash when the other two were out of sight.

"What do you mean?" Ash asks me, confusion in his voice.

"You've been acting… different." I simply state, narrowing my eyes.

"How…?"

"Back when you were fighting with Drew… I never expected you to be so… mean."

Anger flashes in his eyes. "_I_ was the one being mean? May, did you even _hear_ half of the stuff he said to me?"

"Yeah but-"

Ash cuts me off, "Obviously you didn't or else you'd be on my side."

"But some of the comments you were making… do you think that was really necessary…?" I asked him, my voice getting softer. I always hated arguing with Ash. I could never stay mad at him for too long.

"To me it was. I don't like Drew at all. You know that. I hate the things he says to you. He's always criticizing you. You're an amazing coordinator and I don't like the fact that all he does is bring you down."

"He doesn't _always_ bring me down. Drew's really sweet. He gives me roses and congratulates me whenever I win a contest or make it to the next round. He says those things to push me… to make me work harder and fix my mistakes. And it works. Drew knows what he's doing, Ash. I may have been offended a long time ago but now I understand why he does it." I reassure him. "Things have changed since we traveled together last."

"So has everybody else…" Ash whispers.

"Nobody's changed… we're all the same people, just a little older. We're just growing up."

"You're right. Things have changed, but not for the better. When I first came here to visit you and help you on this mission I thought…" He pauses.

"You thought what, Ash?" I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I thought… that we'd be together… but then Drew came along." He admits before turning on his heel and running back the way we came. I stood there frozen. Had I… had I heard him right? I… I've wanted this moment to happen for so long now but… this isn't how I pictured it to happen. I always thought I would be the one to confess, not the other way around. I didn't even get to tell him that I wanted us to be together as well… I gather as much firewood as I can carry before heading back to camp.

When I get back Drew is placing stones in a circle to mark a place for our campfire. Brock is unpacking our bags with things we will need for the night. Ash is not in sight.

"Where's Ash?" I ask them as I drop the wood next to the stone circle.

"He went for a walk, said he needed to think some things through." Brock explains.

"Which way did he go? I have to talk to him." I demand.

"May, it's dark out. You could get lost. You're staying here until he gets back." Drew commands.

"No. You can't tell me what to do. I'm going after him." My heart speaks for itself as I search through my bag for my flashlight. "Where is it?" I ask out loud.

"If you're looking for your flashlight, Ash took it. It was the only one with a charged battery." Brock says. "Drew's right, just stay here until he gets back. Then you two can talk."

"Fine." I sigh in defeat before helping Drew begin to make a campfire. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay," he gives me a reassuring smile.

Dinner was over an hour ago, Ash told Brock not to wait for him, and he still wasn't back. It was past 10 and I was starting to get seriously worried. Drew was already in bed and Brock was on the verge of falling asleep. Me? Oh I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon until Ash was back. I begin pacing in my tent thinking of what to do.

I could sneak out and go to look for him, but it's way too dark to do that now. I could send one of my Pokémon to go search for him, but I wouldn't want them to get lost either. What to do, what to do…

A rustle from outside the tent stops me from my planning and I slowly unzip the zipper on my tent. I peek through and see Ash finally come back into view, Pikachu on his shoulder and they were having a conversation. I quickly unzip the whole thing and charge out, not bothering to be quiet but not caring about it either.

"Ash!" I whisper before running straight into him, wrapping my arms around him. He stiffens up for a moment but then relaxes.

"Hi May."

"You never gave me a chance to tell you how I feel…" I say into his shirt, but it came out more like "Unova guru a pants Torterra cauliflower."

"What about a guru Torterra and his cauliflower pants?" Ash asks me, obviously joking. I couldn't help but laugh and I push myself off of his chest so I could make eye contact.

"You um… never gave me a chance to… you know…"

"I know," he scratches behind his head, "I'm sorry I just, it came out a lot sooner than I wanted it to. I wanted to wait until after everything was normal again before telling you." He smiles sincerely.

"But why…?"

"Because you already have a lot on your mind. I was mostly mad at myself for giving you another thing to stress out about."

I feel my cheeks heat up and I look down at my feet, fiddling with my fingers. He is really sweet…

"Thank you," I smile up at him. "That was very thoughtful of you."

He winks at me, "don't mention it. Can you just forget everything that's happened today? I promise you we will talk things through when the time is right."

"Sure," I grin. "But just so you know, I like you too."

A huge grin appears on his face and Pikachu begins to jump up and down happily on his shoulder.

"I'm such a ladies' man." Ash jokes.

"You just blew your chance." I smirk. His grin disappears.

"Are you serious?" He asks with wide eyes.

I laugh, "no, Mr. Ladies' Man." I wink before walking back to my tent. "Goodnight," I say to him before zipping the door again behind me.

The next morning:

The chirps of a group of Taillow wake me up and I sit up in my sleeping bag, stretching my arms in the process.

"Your fossil collection is really amazing," Brock's voice says from outside of my tent. "And you trained your Armaldo and Cradily very well."

"Well thank you," A very familiar voice laughs. "I do try."

I instantly bolt outside, not caring what I looked like, before pouncing on the familiar silver haired boy, making him knock over his bowl of oatmeal in the process.

"Steven!" I attack him in a Teddiursa hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been better…" The champion of Hoenn chokes out. We all laugh and I help him up.

"I'm sorry, I've just missed you! How's Brendan doing?"

"He's well. He's been training at the Battle Frontier. His Swampert has really come a long way."

"The next time you see him, tell him I said I want to battle him sometime and I bet Blaziken could kick his Swampert's butt with her eyes closed and one arm tied behind her back." I grin cheesily.

Steven laughs, "I'll be sure to tell him."

"So what brings you to Route 119?" Ash asks with a mouthful of chewed apple. Bleh.

"I was on my way to Fortree City actually, Winona asked me to stop by and have a battle between our Skarmories. Think mine could beat hers with its eyes closed and one wing tied behind its back?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

"I'm sure it could." I laugh.

"So May is this your boyfriend?" Steven asks referring to Drew who nearly drops his bowl at the question. Ash drops his apple and I chuckle.

"No, he's my rival. Drew this is Steven Stone, he's the champion of Hoenn and a friend of mine from a long time ago. Steven, this is Drew, he's a coordinator like me and we met in Slateport a couple years back."

Steven holds out his hand, "nice to meet you. What's your Pokémon team?"

"I have a Roserade, a Masquerain, a Flygon, an Absol, and a Butterfree. I'm hoping to be able to get an Eevee egg while I'm here, hatch it, and evolve it into a Flareon." Drew tells us.

"Very nice, very nice." Steven smiles.

"Do you want to travel with us to Fortree City?" Brock asks Steven.

"Sure, why not."

After we clean up and repack our belongings, we set out for Fortree City.

"So why are you guys heading to Fortree?" Steven asks me.

"We're heading to Lilycove actually. Team Aqua and Team Magma are back."

"Seriously? Haven't the idiots given up already?"

"Apparently not. They took my dad… we think they're holding him at a base in Lilycove. Someone whose name starts with an M sent me a map of the base, instructions of how to get through it, and even a key. It's our best bet right now."

"I see… I'm coming with you."

"What? Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes. Sounds like you guys are up for a fight and who better to have on your team than the champion of Hoenn?" He smirks. I hug him.

"Thank you Steven… what about Winona?"

"She'll just have to park her Skarmory for now."

The tall trees of Fortree City finally come into view. Treehouses line the branches and vines connected them together to form pathways and ladders to reach the tall homes. It was such a cool town, beautiful and tropical. Speaking of that, a family of Tropius ate fruit from the very top of the trees and Wingulls built nests made out of broken off branches that sat towards the very top of the trees.

We check into the Pokémon Center and rent a couple of rooms for the night. It was about 4 in the afternoon so we decided to stock up on items and then go out to eat before calling it a day. We would continue our travelling tomorrow morning.

Steven went to go tell Winona that he was going to be traveling with us, while the rest of us made our way to the Poké Mart. Along the way, a cute little street store caught my eye. There was a friendly looking old woman selling jewelry. I walk over to the booth and a certain design of necklace charms catches my attention.

The silver metal charms that spelled out letters were made by Pokémon designs. There was a 'M' charm made to look like a Skitty that was running with its tail making the letter. An 'a' charm that resembled a Torchic's head and even a 'y' charm made to look like a Wartortle sticking its' arms up in the air to form the top of the 'y' and it's tail resembled the actual tail of the letter.

"These are beautiful," I tell her, admiring the small charms. "How much would it be for three charms and a chain?"

"Charms and chains are both $50 dollars a piece so the whole necklace would be $200. They're made out of sterling silver." She explains. My mouth drops open at the price and I quickly put the charms back where I found them.

"See something you like?" Ash asks coming next to me.

"It's too expensive, I shouldn't be buying jewelry anyway." I smile at him as we make our way back to our friends.

After stocking up on Potions, Revives, Pokémon Food, and the other necessities for a journey, we met back up with Steven at a small diner for dinner.

We ordered our dishes, Ash getting a slice of cheese pizza and a Nanab Berry smoothie, Drew buys a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich with a glass of Moo Moo Milk, Brock gets a bowl of vegetable soup with a small soda, Steven decides on a burger in the shape of a Tauros and a tea, I get a big slice of Razz Berry pie and a lemonade. We all end up having a fun time together and after we're finished eating we head back to the Pokémon Center.

We call Dawn back at the Pokémon Center in Mauville.

"Hey guys!" Her face pops up on the screen.

"Hey Dawn. How's Paul?" Ash asks.

"He's doing good. Their icing and putting cream on his back every couple hours. He's resting right now or I'd let you guys talk to him."

"Glad he's doing good. When will he be out?" Drew asks.

"Not for a couple weeks or so. It's a bad 3rd-degree burn and they usually don't let people with such bad burns like his out for at least 3 weeks."

"Tell him we called and that we can't wait to see him again." I tell her. She smiles.

"I will. Goodnight guys, thanks for calling."

"Night Dawn." The four of us say to our friend before hanging up. Poor Steven stood awkwardly in the back.

I say goodnight to my friends before heading into my room. I change into my pajamas, a white tank top and a pair of pink pajama pants with Luvdiscs on them. Not even 5 minutes later there's a knock on my door. With a toothbrush in my mouth, I open the door to see Steven.

"Come on in." I say with a mouthful of toothpaste. He laughs and shuts the door behind him. I finish brushing my teeth and join him at a small table shaped like a Wailmer in my room.

"You said that someone mailed you a map, a key, and instructions to Team Aqua's base, right? And their name started with an M?"

"Yep."

"It was me." He admits. I look at him confused.

"Wait… what? How? Why?" He bursts out laughing.

"I had the map and key from my last visit to their base when I was exploring it after they woke up Kyogre and I wrote down the instructions from memory of how to get through it. I saw you in Mauville and told Nurse Joy to give them to you the next time she saw you. I put the M so you wouldn't know who it was from. I wasn't going to tell you either but then I saw your campsite and Brock invited me for breakfast."

"Well thanks Steven, what a great friend." I say sarcastically rolling my eyes.

"Oh you know you love me." He smirks.

"I do," I smile. "Thank you for all of this. You're a huge help."

"Anytime, but the next time you have an issue like this, please call me. I love adventures."

I laugh, "I will."

After Steven leaves to go to his room I finally lay down to go to sleep. There was something lumpy under my pillow. I slide my hand under the pillow and feel something cold and metallic between my fingers. I pull it out and it was none other than the exact necklace I wanted earlier.

(Just so you guys know, Steven is 17 in this story. I wanted him to be in it but I thought if he was like 22 or something then it was be really awkward for him to be traveling with a group of kids. Haha! Thanks for reading!)


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